Our Hometown
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Feeding their souls SERVED: Twice each week for the past 16 years, volunteers have cooked up free lunches for the needy in the basement of a local church.
On the stove, pots and serving pans filled with their creations are heating up, sending the smells of comfort food wafting through the air into the attached dining room. There, almost 20 people are seated at tables in anticipation of the noontime meal. It's 11:45 a.m. Thursday - some of the diners arrived at the church as early as 9:30. They read and catch up with one another while they wait for the free lunch. This twice weekly program is, after all, about camaraderie as well as the food. 'It's a place to have a meal, a social fellowship for people who would be eating alone or wouldn't be eating at all,' said Dean Hartfiel, a coordinator and cook. More than 48,000 free lunches have been served at the 301 E. Miller St. church since the program began 16 years ago. Three thousand of the meals have been plated in the last year alone. 'Ninety percent of the people who come for free lunch are hungry,' said the Rev. Patricia Page of the Emmanuel Church. 'It helps stretch food dollars and gives people a hardy, well-balanced meal.' Started Feb. 2, 1993, by Elsie and Art Deys, the free lunch program was originally a mission of the Emmanuel United Methodist Church. The program at first helped mostly congregation members, but over the years has expanded to the community-at-large, attracting people of all faiths and denominations both as volunteers and diners. Coordinators, too, have changed since Elsie and Art retired in 2006. 'I stopped by to donate a bushel of tomatoes from my garden and asked if they needed help,' said Donna Spier of Clifton Springs. She's now cooking and coordinating the Thursday meal, as well as ordering food. 'This is immediate,' she said. 'You see the people and their need. And you see the need filled, unlike donating money to a charity and wondering how or where the money will be used.' The good feeling that comes from helping others keeps Spier coming back. So does the atmosphere. 'It's like going to a party,' she said. 'Although were flying when were cooking and preparing the meal, everyone laughs. I like to think it does those coming in for the meal good to hear our laughter and to know the meal is put together with joy, that we want to be there preparing the food.' Shirley Stowell, who has worked the kitchen for four years, agreed. 'I enjoy the camaraderie, plus the organized chaos,' she said. Other Thursday volunteers are Eileen Godfrey, who has three years under her belt; Marion Furletti with two; Johanna Fenyn with one-and-a- half; and Tara Trask with a month. Then there's Bill Semmler, the only male on the Thursday team. 'I was worried they were going to fire me, the way they boss me around,' he joked of his fellow volunteers. Hartfiel helps on Tuesdays. He and his wife, Norma Jeanne, have been with the program since 1997 and also coordinate a free Thanksgiving dinner at the church.
Free clothing is also available during the Tuesday and Thursday meals. Back in the church basement, it's noon and the diners have lined up for their meals. 'I enjoy coming each week and seeing the people I know,' says one of them. Another chimes in, 'It's fun to get out of the house to talk with people and to get good food.' How to help
PHOTOS BY SUE HIGGINS
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2009 |
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