Patiently Waiting

Catherine and Helen were part of today's great team of dining room volunteers. They worked nonstop, serving 418 meals in two hours!

Today, just like the last three Wednesdays, a man was already in line for the community meal when I entered Trinity Episcopal Cathedral to start cooking.

I always arrive before 7:30 a.m. and the meal doesn't even start until 11 a.m., so he had a very long wait ahead of him.

The first Wednesday I saw him waiting by the door,  I said, "good morning" and asked him if I could bring him a cup of coffee.

"Oh yes please," he said and when I returned with the cup of coffee and a Starbucks pastry he said, "God bless you lady."

Now that we've encountered each other three times, we know each other by name and I know just how Alfred likes his coffee.

"Hello, it's good to see you," I said to him this morning. "I'll be right out with your cup of coffee and I remember that you like it with sugar." He gave me a really big smile.

Alfred's sweet and grateful response is one of the reasons I love volunteering. Treating nice people just makes you feel good. Soon there were others waiting behind him and when the doors finally opened at 11 a.m. there was a very long line for the free for everyone meal.

Being the last Wednesday of the month, we were expecting a big crowd and we were right. We served 418 meals today.

One of today's most popular and colorful entrees was barbecued ribs with mashed sweet potatoes, tomatoes and blueberries. The ribs were donated by Good Samaritan Hospital and the blueberries and sweet potatoes were picked up by our gleaners from The Oregon Food Bank.

Serving Shelter

The view of the dining room from the kitchen during our last half hour of service. I was so happy to see my friend Bob seated closest to the kitchen so that I could smile and wave at him. We've been friends for more than 16 years.

So far this year, Portland's weather has been very hard on the homeless. Last week it was snow and ice and this week it's been rain, nonstop rain.

Those who joined us at the Wednesday Community Meal today seemed to be seeking shelter just as much as a hot meal because they lingered longer than usual in the dining room. The tables cleared up slowly and there was a constant line to get in throughout most of our two hour lunch service.

But who can blame our guests for staying inside as long as possible? The wet weather has been miserable and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Kempton Hall is a beautiful, warm and comfortable place to eat.

We served 310 meals today and helped a lot of cold and wet folks warm up. 

Our entrees were crispy oven-baked chicken and homemade meat loaf. We also served soup, salad, dessert and lots and lots of hot chocolate and coffee.

Meatloaf was one of today's entrees.

A Cool Lunch

Today's lunch.

We served turkey, avacado, cheese and tomato sandwiches at today's Wednesday Community Meal and our guests were thrilled.

Our super sandwich assembly line. Thank you Gwen, Micah, Sam and Ian!

"They all love the sandwiches," said volunteer Carol who serves in the dining room and is always great about giving us feedback in kitchen. The sandwiches did look pretty darn good with the fresh tomato and avacado and a generous portion of sliced turkey breast. Alongside the sandwiches we served cold watermelon, cantaloup and potato chips. We also offered soup, salad and dessert — a full four-course meal.

Our wonderful dining room volunteers today included Judy, Carol, Lucy and Maddy.

There's been a heat wave here in Portland, temperatures have been in the 90's for nearly two weeks, and this has been hard on everyone but especially the homeless in our community. When you are living outside, a break from the weather is very hard to find.

One of our regular guests today asked me if I could possibly give him meals to take to two friends. "They really wanted to come today but they found a shady spot and don't want to lose it," he said.

I told him I would and said that I have noticed we haven't been as busy lately.

"That's because it's too hot to walk far," he said. Two men near us overheard and nodded in agreement.

My hope is that the shelter, hospitality and meal that we served today at least helped cool and comfort those who were able to join us. We served 260 meals today.

 

Impressive Helpers

Creative Science School students Oliver and Neveah helped in the kitchen today. Neveah helped make a gravy and plate the food and Oliver was on beverage duty, making and pouring the lemonade.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the dishwashers work the hardest of anyone at The Wednesday Community Meal, so I know Jesse, Kevin, Bill, Steve, Jay and Dave (not pictured) were thankful to have the help of Daniel and Connor today. The students even got to partake in the sacred dishwasher tradition of eating a Coco donut before the start of the meal service.  The dishwashers need their energy!

We had a great time working alongside students from the Creative Science School today at The Wednesday Community Meal. This is the second time students from the SE Portland school have volunteered at our program and just like last time, I'm very impressed.

All of them were conscientious, hardworking and kind to our guests who enjoyed the food we served today.

First on the menu was roasted chicken with gravy over rice and then it was onto chicken skewers, fried fish, baked fish, enchiladas, curry, baked chicken and finally ribs. Our menu had to change frequently in order to utilize all the gleaned food donated from Good Samaritan Hospital, Phil's Uptown Meat Market and The Oregon Food Bank.

We served 268 meals today. Thank you to all of our wonderful young volunteers. You are welcome back anytime!

Chicken For Lunch!

The roasted chicken we served today drew a large crowd to our meal.

Chicken is hands down the most popular entree that we serve at The Wednesday Community Meal.

In the past, we've been able to serve it quite frequently because of the generosity of Lift Urban Portland which donates to us large boxes of frozen chicken quarters.

But lately, they haven't had it to give to us and our guests missed it until today because the local nonprofit treated us to four boxes.

We seasoned the large pieces of chicken with a homemade seasoning blend of garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and little chili powder and baked it in a 350-degree oven until it was done and the skin was crisp and golden brown. The smell in the kitchen was amazing and after our first seating of 60 people, there was a long line to get into the lunch. Word on the street spreads really fast when roasted chicken is being served.

The first 130 or so guests got chicken and then it was onto ribs, enchiladas, lasagna and finally ham. Everyone got a good meal.

The side dishes we served today were rice, green beans, mashed potatoes and mashed carrots. The latter was a dish we concocted on the fly because of the largest carrots I've ever seen that our gleaners picked up at The Oregon Food Bank. Last week we roasted the carrots but this week I thought we should try something different and our carrot mash ended up better than I could have imagined.

We boiled the carrots for over an hour and then mashed them by hand (thank you Andy!) and added butter, salt and pepper and fresh parsley. It was a beautiful and very fresh tasting dish.

Our special carrot side dish.

Here are some of the wonderful volunteers who helped us prepare and serve 333 meals today:

Isla Blue who is 5-years-old, worked alongside volunteer Cindy serving pudding in the busy dining room. Isla Blue's dad is a regular volunteer in the dining room, greeting and seating our guests, and her grandma is the co-chair of Outreach at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. With such great role models for volunteering in her life, I have a feeling she'll do great things.

I can't say enough good things about Terri. She comes early to help cook and stays until the very end,  helping to clean up. She's smart and efficient in the kitchen and a huge help to me.

Justine, John and Leah are also indispensable. They are hard workers and up for any task. After prepping food for the meal, Justine went out into the dining room to wait on tables and Leah and John stayed in the kitchen plating the salads.

Nancy just knows exactly what to do without being told. It's like she's a mind reader! I'll say "oh I forgot to get the rice out of the oven," and she'll say "I already did it." Keeping track of what's cooking would be overwhelming without Nancy. She also stays late to help clean up.

I owe Andy big time for mashing pounds and pound of boiled carrots in small batches. It was tedious work!

Andy insisted that I mash one batch of carrots and pose for a picture because in his words, "you're never on your blog." So here I am, but really, he deserves the credit for mashing the carrots.

Spring Break 2015

My nephew Sam and daughter Eleanor have been volunteering since the start of the Wednesday Community Meal. I really appreciate their willingness to get up early during their spring break and work with me.

Thank goodness Portland area students are on spring break this week because we really needed the extra help of our young and energetic volunteers who come in to work whenever they are off from school.

High school seniors Zane and Sam helping to plate meals. Zane has been volunteering since he was in middle school.

We served 432 meals during our two hour service today, the busiest we've been since the summer.

Luckily we had good help and good food and the meal was a success. Most of the guests got homemade meatloaf, baked potatoes and pickled cucumber as their entree. We also served roast beef, corned beef, beef stir-fry and chicken cutlets.  Everyone was also offered soup, salad and dessert.

The first meal served today was roast beef, rice, roasted vegetables and pickled cucumber.

Many guests came by the kitchen window today to say "thank you" for what we do. It's towards the end of a month that's been exceptionally cold and rainy and it's clear that in addition to the food, our guests greatly appreciate the warmth of our dining room and the hospitality of our volunteers.

Regular volunteers Steve and Martha paused for a quick picture in the dining room. There was a nearly constant line to get in to eat today and the dining room was bustling.

Pizza To The Rescue

Volunteer servers Carol and Rusti posed for a quick picture at the start of today's meal. After days of rain in Portland,  it was so nice to see warm sunlight beaming into the dining room.

Well what a difference a week makes.

Unlike last week at The Wednesday Community Meal, when we had plenty of food and the service was smooth and easy, today's meal kept us hopping but we survived.

As luck would have it, we just weren't able to glean as much food early in the week and so when we emptied the refrigerators this morning and saw what we had — a few large containers of soup, some white rice, some fried rice, half of a pork roast, about 2 cups of sliced chicken, six pieces of salmon, a gallon of white sauce, pepperoni, some cheese and 32 pounds of ground beef  — we knew we had to think fast right from the start if we were going to feed everyone who would come to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral to eat.

In our downstairs stockroom we had pasta, tomato sauce and tortillas so we brainstormed and  quickly got a meal plan together.

We would make a pasta dish with the white sauce and a few pans of ground beef enchiladas with the tortillas, tomato sauce and cheese. With the remaining ground beef we would make meatballs and with the pepperoni we would make pizzas using French bread gleaned from Grand Central Bakery.

The pork roast and fish could be heated and served as is and the sliced chicken could be added to a small portion of soup to make a "chicken gravy" that could be served over a bed of rice.

Volunteer Dave kindly made a run to Cash 'n' Carry for salad ingredients and some additional items that were necessary to implement our plan including extra cheese and tomato sauce for the pizzas.

It really is amazing how our team comes together to make the meal happen no matter the circumstances. And truth be told, the times we're scrambling are often the most fun because it's exciting and challenging.

The first entree we served today was pasta with meatballs.

French Bread Pizza

There wasn't a dull moment at the meal today but it was indeed a success thanks in large part to pizza.  Besides the French bread pizzas that we made from scratch, we were fortunate to get a large donation of pizza from Pizza Schmizza right before the meal. At the end of the two hour lunch service every bit of pizza was gone but we made it, we served 306 meals and fed every single person who came to our door.

A Lot Of Help From My Friends

I haven't posted about the Wednesday Community Meal in two weeks and I promise I have a good excuse.

Initially I had planned to miss just the meal on Wednesday January 21st because of a family trip to New York City but then that darn blizzard hit the city and our flight home was cancelled causing me to also miss this week's meal on January 28th.

Volunteering is something I look forward to every week and I felt really bad about not being able to be there two weeks in a row but I didn't stress because I knew the meal was in the good hands of my friends and fellow volunteers.

When I told Fred who helps organize the meal that I would have to be gone a second week he kindly said "Don't worry," and added "Portland is 54 degrees, sunny and no wind." Of course the rain stopped and the weather got nice when I was away!

Volunteer Cheryl is the one who filled in for me in the kitchen, planning the meals to best utilize the gleaning and figuring out what additional ingredients were needed. She did an amazing job and having lived on the East Coast,  she told me she knew that my original hope that I could still catch a flight home in time for the meal was "wishful thinking".

"I wasn't optimisitic when I talked with you this morning about a flight Tuesday night. We'll be fine and all is under control," she texted me.

I really do have the best friends! So many of them came in extra early to make both Wednesday Community Meals a success. I owe them big time!

On the 21st, they served 301 meals and on the 28th, they served 302 meals. Cheryl and Nancy kindly sent me photos so I wouldn't feel too left out. I'm really looking forward to getting back to work next week and seeing everyone.

Wednesday January, 21st. 

Cheryl, Martha, Kate, Terri, Ann, Andy and Bill pose for a quick pic in the kitchen.

Most of the guests got hot dogs and fries as their main entree which I have no doubt was very popular with the guests.

Wednesday January, 28th.

Volunteers Andy and Tom came in extra early to help out.

Volunteers Frank and Frank (I love that!) worked hard serving in the dining room.

Guests got homemade meatloaf, rice and green beans as their main entree. This looks so good! The meal was obviously in great hands.

Hearty Food

We had to change our entree menu a few times to utilize the food we had on hand but all of the 303 meals we served at the Wednesday Community Meal today were nutritious, hearty and well-received by our guests. In addition to the entree, guests were were served soup, salad and dessert. Dessert today was homemade pear crisp made by volunteer Cheryl.

The first guests in the door got oven-baked chicken with gravy over rice, green beans, cranberry sauce and orange slices. The chicken was crispy and flavorful and many guests stopped by the kitchen window to say how much they loved it. Harry, one of our regulars even fist bumped me and told me it was "the bomb."

A chicken meal.

The chicken was donated by Lift Urban Portland and we prepared it by seasoning it with a homemade blend of spices, herbs and salt and pepper and baking it until it was done and nicely brown, flipping it over once during baking. Every time we make baked chicken, our seasoning blend is different depending on what seasonings we have on hand, but that doesn't seem to matter. The chicken turns out delicious every time.

Next up today was gnocchi that we topped with a cheesy tomato sauce and served with meatballs, green beans and orange slices. The large meatballs were donated by Phil's Uptown Meat Market and a perfect accompaniment to the gnocchi that was donated by Good Samaritan Hospital. I have to give a special shout out to volunteer Terri who cooked a whole case of frozen gnocchi for us today by standing over the stove and dropping small batches into boiling water. It took a lot of time and a lot of patience and she cooked it perfectly.

A gnocchi and meatball meal.

The last thing we served today was shepherd's pie donated by Good Samaritan Hospital. The comforting entree, made with ground beef, mashed potatoes and vegetables is always popular with our guests. Alongside the shepherd's pie we served roasted potatoes, a green salad and orange slices.

A shepherd's pie meal.

Fabulous Free Food

Every bit of the soup, salad, entrees and dessert that we served today at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Wednesday Community Meal was free thanks to our wonderful gleaners and the generosity of those in our community who share their leftovers.

A group of dedicated volunteers gleans regularly for us, collecting food from places like The Oregon Food Bank, Good Samaritan Hospital, Phil's Uptown Meat Market, Pizza Schmizza, Grand Central Bakery and Trader Joe's which helps us keep our costs down and stay within budget.

We are on track to serve just under 20,000 meals by the end of the year and even with financial support from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, donations and fundraisers, feeding everyone would be cost prohibitive without the gleaning.  Typically we need to purchase additional ingredients so that we can serve a well-rounded meal and have enough to feed everyone who comes to our door.

Today though, with a little creativity, we were able to utilize just our gleaned food and serve 247 four-course meals.  

It really is a shame how much food is wasted in our country and it feels satisfying to save it and put it to good use. It's also important to note that just because it's free, it doesn't mean it's not fabulous. The food we glean is high quality and nutritious and to prove it, here are some of the meals we served today:

Green Chicken Curry, Roasted Tomatoes and Green Beans, Carrots and Onions.

Baked Fish, Roasted Tomatoes, Rice and Green Beans and Onions.

Seasoned and Sliced Chicken Breast Over Rice, Green Beans, Carrots and Onions and Roasted Tomatoes.

Chicken Skewers Over Rice, Roasted Tomatoes and Green Beans, Carrots and Onions.

Homemade And Comforting Food

Enchilada Casserole, Oven-Roasted Green Beans and Chips.

We served delicious and comforting homemade enchilada casserole and lasagna today at The Wednesday Community Meal and our guests loved it. The cheesy casserole-style dishes were the perfect antidote to another cold and rainy Portland day.

When I think about it, homemade casseroles are not easy to find in restaurants and so unless you cook or live with a cook, they're kind of a rarity. A casserole is special because it's something you get at home.

Adding cheese to the top of an Enchilada Casserole.

In addition to the enchilada casserole and lasagna, our guests sat back and relaxed with soup, salad, dessert and cups of hot chocolate, coffee, milk and lemonade.

Volunteers Linda and Leah made all the salads we served today. They were topped with strawberry slices and croutons and looked so pretty.

We served 325 meals and since Halloween is just days away, a few of our volunteers got into the spirit and dressed up.

There was a clown:

Dean is so much fun! Every Wednesday he serves coffee and hot chocolate tableside in the dining room.

Here's Dean again, clowning around with our wonderful volunteer servers, Mary, Dorrie and Carol.

There was a witch:

Dave is a Wednesday Community Meal VIP. Every week he arrives early to shop for us at Cash 'n' Carry, buying any additional items we need to make the meal happen. He also is part of our ace team of dishwashers.

And, there was a blind mouse:

Craig is great, a regular volunteer in the kitchen and willing to help wherever needed. Today he made sure all the pans of enchilada casserole and lasagna were cooked to perfection.

A Meal To Lift Damp Spirits

Our early crew of dedicated volunteers. When Mary, Martha, Nancy, Leah, Ann, Cheryl, Terri and Bill arrived this morning,  there was already a line to get inside.

 The weather today has been nothing but constant rain and at the Wednesday Community Meal there was much more than damp clothing in the dining room, there were damp spirits. We didn't see many smiles and our guests looked wet, cold and uncomfortable.

There was a line of men waiting under the covered porch of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral before 8 a.m., more than three hours before the doors opened, and at 1 p.m. when the meal was over, there was still a group under the porch, waiting for respite from the rain. None came.

As I write this at nearly 8 p.m., it's still raining heavily and I can't help but think of my homeless friends. I pray they are dry, warm and safe.

We served 380 meals. Most of the guests got roasted pork, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Dessert for the first 40 in the door was homemade Chocolate Flan Cake. The dessert is one of my favorites to make and is part chocolate cake and part creamy flan. I couldn't have picked a better day to bring it in as it was a special treat for those who came early and waited so long in line — A bit of sweetness on a somber day.

Today's entree.

Chocolate Flan Cake.

Slices of cake.

A Quiet Day And Homemade Croutons

The best homemade croutons made by volunteer Leah at today's Wednesday Community Meal.

With it being the first week of the month, it was a quiet day at the Wednesday Community Meal. We typically feed smaller crowds earlier in the month because that's when people get their social security checks.

The slower-paced service gave us more time today to visit with our guests who are so nice and appreciative. One guest today told volunteer Dean who serves coffee in the dining room, "When I come here to have lunch, it feels like I'm coming to Grandma's house."

In order to utilize the food we gleaned from Good Samaritan Hospital and Phil's Uptown Meat Market, we had to change our menu quite a few times. At the start of the meal we served Thai green curry and at the end we served spaghetti. In between there was meatloaf, ribs, chicken, beef casserole, Mexican casserole and a moist and delicious roasted pork loin that was purchased by Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

Volunteer Nancy slicing the pork loin that was one of our most popular entrees today.

Guests were also offered also soup, salad and dessert. The salads were extra good today because they were topped with croutons made from scratch by volunteer Leah. They were crunchy and perfectly seasoned with garlic, Italian herbs, paprika, salt and pepper. It's hard to duplicate what we do each week because our ingredients are rarely the same but I hope Leah remembers her recipe because her croutons were the best.

We served 285 meals today.

Good Food But Few Guests

One of today's 216 meals - A pork enchilada, ham, rice and veggies.

We had a large group of energetic volunteers eager to work at today's Wednesday Community Meal but a surprisingly small number of guests. At the end of the two hour service, we'd served only 216 meals. Last Wednesday, the first week of July,  we served 245 and our numbers typically go up each week until the end of the month.

The lulls in today's service actually made me more tired and my fellow kitchen volunteers said the same was true for them. When we're really busy it's easier to keep our energy levels up, especially in the summer heat. Continually stopping and starting is more tiring.

The meal was a success though, we served every person who came to our door a well-rounded and delicious meal. The first guests in the door got ribs from Phil's Uptown Meat Market, rice and vegetables. Then it was onto corned beef, chicken, hot roast beef sandwiches, ham sandwiches, sweet and sour chicken and pork enchiladas.

The corned beef, roast beef and ham were donated by the Oregon Food Bank. They came already cooked and just needed to be sliced and heated for serving. High school volunteers Micah and my nephew Sam took on the task of slicing all the meat and they did a great job. I told them I appreciated their hard  work and that they are now officially qualified to seek work in a deli.

Sam slicing the roast beef.

Olivia whisked up a combo of mayo and mustard to put on the sandwiches.

We also served soup, salad and dessert. The soup was donated from Good Samaritan Hospital, the salads were made from lettuce donated by Springhill Organic Farm and the dessert was delicious cake donated by Trader Joe's.

Linda and Leah plating salads.