Frank Speziale photo

NORWICH – The Norwich Community Soup Kitchen will return for its eighth year of providing free, weekly dinners and desserts on Tuesday, September 11.

Every Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. from September 11 through the end of May, the Norwich Community Soup Kitchen will serve free, hot meals with dessert from the St. Bartholomew Parish Center located at 81 East Main Street in Norwich.

"We call it a soup kitchen but really it's a dinner," said Norwich Community Soup Kitchen Director JoAnn Testani. "You get a dinner and a dessert every Tuesday starting at 5:30 p.m. And everyone is welcome, there's no fee."

Testani said the menu for the soup kitchen's first meal of the year will include sausage with fried potatoes, pork and beans, and a surprise dessert.