Fayetteville Church Cooks Up Annual Spaghetti Fundraiser

More than 4,000 pounds of pasta, along with 900 gallons of spaghetti sauce, make up what Fayetteville residents call "The World's Largest Spaghetti Dinner." The annual fundraiser is a community event involving chefs from across the area, who volunteer their time.

"We started it at first to help pay the mortgage on the church, then it became an event every year," said organizer Pete Skemteris.

For 43 years, the church has cooked the pasta and assorted pastries and people have come from all over the area for a good meal. John Zackary came to the event to pick up 80 dinners for his co-workers.

"There are employees who really like the spaghetti, and it's a good price. I think the meat sauce is very unique and very good," he said.

Organizers say the whole event takes about three days to prepare, with many people working 13-hour days. The cost for each meal is $5. All proceeds go to local charities as well as an education center that is being built at the church.