|
Meal Site Information
In the city of Columbus, there is a free meal offered to the community every night of the week. On Sundays, our parish prepares and serves a meal to the community. This ministry may be referred to as “soup kitchen”, “hot meals” or “meal site”.
The hot meals ministry currently has over 85 volunteers that have committed to serving the soup kitchen this year. Individual groups or teams of four to six people are assigned two or three Sundays within the year and then take responsibility for meal selection, preparation, serving and cleanup. Many teams provide all the food for their meal, but St. Bartholomew does have a pantry with a fairly good selection of food items that can be prepared. In addition, Kroger donates a large selection of baked goods every Sunday to add to the meal.
The hot meals ministry is a wonderful ministry in that it benefits many people with a relatively small commitment overall. Thanks to the large volume of volunteers, no more than three Sundays a year require coverage by any one group. Many groups need to commit to only two Sundays throughout the entire year. Meal preparation typically begins at 4:00 pm and participants begin to gather and socialize shortly thereafter. The meal is served at 5:00 pm and cleanup is typically completed by 6:00 pm.
If hot meals is a ministry you have interest in or if you have additional questions please feel free to call Jill and Patrick Schumacher at 376-3867, or email Barb Kuhn at bkuhn@ptservice.com.
Below is the 2010 Hot Meal schedule. We also send this schedule via email. To be sure it is received, we also send out the schedule to the TEAM LEADERS. Please be sure to inform your team of your dates.
2009 brought many challenges and rewards for the hot meal site. Our number in meals are averaging 250-300 each month, and we hope you find rewards in this service. We have begun a new service with HSI in Columbus. Susan Chandler has done all the leg work, and has been able to stock our pantry with everything from plates and cups (donated by her customer), to vegetable's, fruite, peanut butter and juice. Please contact a co-chair when planning your meal. The hot meal committee has a freezer located in the old garage area in the junior high hall way. It is currently stocked with hamburger, chicken, turkey, and ham. By receiving this assistance, come rules. They are the standard rules of wearing gloves, having thermometers in the freezer and refrigerator, but the hardest rule is the way the food has to be served. Since it is government regulated, we are required to serve buffet/military style. The food is served from a line, and the patrons are able to choose what they would like on their plate. This in turn reduces the amount of food that is wasted. If you have anyquestions regarding the rulse, please feel free to contact us.
If you see that we are running low on any condiments, sugar, coffee, plates etc, please let one of the co charis know. It is really frustrating to come in and find that there is not enough coffee or sugar. Please remember NOT to leave any food that will spoil in the refrigerator. Please take home, or dispose. We just enver know what surprises we find week to week.
Again, we appreciate your dedication to this ministry. We find it very rewarding and hope you do as well.
Happy Holidays,
Barbara Kuhn
Susan Chandler
Juli Nichols |