Eleven-day-old Malachi Gentel spent the afternoon of his first Christmas snoozing in a stroller inside the Water Street Mission dining hall.

A Santa cap on his head and a mound of blankets at his feet, the baby boy was safe, warm, fed -- and with his thankful parents.

"I lost my job and I lost my place back in August," said his mother, Jessica Kauffman, formerly of West King Street. "This is my last resort."

At the other end of the room, volunteer Valerie Bomberger smiled and greeted a stocky, grizzled man as he put his tray on the serving line.

"Hi. Merry Christmas. Would you like some salad?" she asked cheerfully, as peppy holiday music played from a boom box nearby.

The Lititz resident was joined behind the large metal food pans by her husband Michael and their children Brittney, 15, and Tayler, 17.

"You could stay home in your pajamas all day, but we find a better purpose in doing this," said Mrs. Bomberger.

Gratitude and generosity.

Those were the emotions felt throughout the Water Street Mission on South Prince Street, which served about 500 free meals Christmas afternoon.

That was up from 423 last year, an 18 percent increase.

"What we're seeing today reflects the increased need we're seeing every other day of the year," said Jere Shertzer of the mission's parent organization, Water Street Ministries.

Shertzer, president and chief executive officer, said the mission is serving 15,000 meals a month as the unemployment rate stands at a 26-year high of 8.0 percent.

That compares to 14,000 a month during 2008.

For the noon-to-6 p.m. Christmas meal, Water Street went through 70 pounds of roast beef, 300 pounds of potatoes and 30 gallons of gravy.

Not to mention large amounts of salad, broccoli, cranberry sauce, desserts and beverages.

Water Street is "life-saving. Absolutely," said Bryan Pudelski, who stays in its emergency shelter at night and seeks work during the day.

The former landscaper and bartender added, "It also gives me a little bit of hope and a small amount of dignity. It doesn't leave me at the point of desperation."

Tom Murphy, a former Ephrata resident who's lived at Water Street intermittently this year due to "problems with alcohol and drugs," also expressed his appreciation.

"They're giving me another chance. I don't say 'second chance.' It's more like the 18th," said Murphy, who used to install satellite dishes and now wants to be a certified addictions counselor.

"It means a lot," agreed Kauffman, seated with fiance Sean Gentel. Without Water Street, she said the couple would have given their baby up for adoption and would be living on the streets.

Instead, the family is together. It has food, shelter, even baby supplies and Christmas gifts, courtesy of Water Street.

"They make it feel like home, until we get back on our feet," said Kauffman, who used to work as a convenience-store cashier.

While the Water Street residents see their stays as temporary, the Bombergers plan to come back. This is their fourth year of volunteering there on various holidays.

"We want to show our children how to give back and how to show the spirit throughout the year," said Mrs. Bomberger, a Warwick Middle School learning support classroom assistant.

The Rogers family of Landisville had a similar approach, as it cleared and cleaned the tables during its first volunteer visit at Water Street.

Curt Rogers, a Landisville Intermediate Center fifth-grade teacher, was joined by his wife, Stacy Thornwall-Rogers, and their children Alexander, 13, and Patrick, 17.

"We wanted to do something as a family that would be centered on others, not just us," said Rogers. "We lead a pretty good life and we want to give back."

tmekeel@lnpnews.com