My Friends Forever

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Wednesday Community Meal is very special. It's a place full of love and compassion, where friends work side by side to prepare and serve a meal to friends in need.

Everyone is invited inside to sit, relax and eat.  The meal is free, no questions asked and everyone is treated with kindness and respect.

It's been an important part of my life since 2004. In the beginning it was just my friend Fred and I handing out sack lunches. Later, with Trinity's support, it evolved to be a hot lunch in a take out box and finally in 2008, a four course meal served inside beautiful Kempton Hall.

Inviting our guests inside changed everything. It was the right thing to do. It enabled us to spend more time with our guests and we got to know and love them. They are real people. They are fathers, mothers, daughters and sons and they shouldn't have to suffer.  They deserve to eat and enjoy delicious and nutritious food and they deserve respite from the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter. 

Today was my last day at the meal and I am going to miss everyone so much. Volunteering has enriched my life in so many ways. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to be a part of such a special program. Being with my friends each Wednesday is something I looked forward to and something I will miss terribly.

I am moving to Connecticut in June with my family but I will never forget my family at The Wednesday Community Meal.


Here are my teammates who served 287 meals today:

Linda

Ione

Tiffany

Mary

Jay

Steve

Linda

Barbara

Sandy

Veronica

Craig (He's always making us laugh.)

Frank, Barbara, Helen and Diane

Bill and Kevin

Dave

Fred

Cindy

Martha

John and Leah

Dan and Dean

Virgina

Anne

Kate

Gwen

Davis

Ann

Vicky and Joyce

Mary (She has been such a wonderful support to me. Mary is the very first volunteer to arrive and gets us started each week, moving our ingredients from our downstairs pantry into the kitchen.)

Dishwasher Appreciation

Our super dishwashing team in a photo taken a few weeks ago, in happier times. Clockwise from the back left is Steve, Jay, Bill, Kevin and Dave.

No one works harder at The Wednesday Community Meal than our team of volunteer dishwashers. Every Wednesday, they are among the first to arrive and the very last to leave.

Early in the morning, at 7:30 a.m., the pots and pans from the meal preparations start heading their way. And then, once the meal is served at 11 a.m., things get even busier because it's bus tub after bus tub of dirty dishes and silverware in addition to more pots and pans.

They are invaluable and I am grateful for their hard work and dedication.

Especially after today, I owe Bill, Jay, Dave, Steve, Kevin and Joe a debt of gratitude.

You see, we served ribs, lots of delicious ribs, ten pans full. We baked the ribs in a tomatoeye sauce and after such a long time in the oven, the pans were a real mess. The ribs were delicious, but the pans were atrocious and took lots of extra time and effort to clean.

I really wouldn't have blamed the dishwashers if they walked off the job and right out the door.  Thankfully, they didn't. They were really nice and I owe them big time and no sticky food next week.

We served 354 meals today.

Breakfast For Lunch

Dining room volunteers Helen and Virgina with today's "breakfast".

Guests at today's Wednesday Community Meal ate breakfast for lunch and they loved it!

We served slices of homemade frittata that were filled with chunks of roasted red potatoes, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, tomato and onion, lean bacon, warm biscuits and fruit salad.

A meal ready to be served.

The colorful fruit salad was made and donated by volunteer Elizabeth. It was so generous of her to make it for us and she couldn't have picked a better day. It really went perfect with all of our other breakfast items. 

Fruit salad closeup.

The premium applewood smoked bacon that we served was Nueske's brand and was donated to us by SP Provision. The smell and the taste really made our guests happy. Everyone got at least three pieces, but there was an exception.

"Heidi, do you think I could get an extra piece of that bacon and a biscuit to go?," asked one of our regular guests as he was leaving.

I obliged since it's always my preference to say "yes" whenever possible. When life is hard, little pleasures mean so much. Plus, it was a joy to see his big smile when I said "you got it" and handed the extra food to him.

We served 488 meals during our two hour service at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and we couldn't have done it without all of our dedicated volunteers who gleaned, cooked, served and cleaned. Thank you!

Friends At Work

We were fortunate to have Catherine's help serving in the dining room. Today is her 10th birthday and she chose to celebrate it by coming in to help. Now,  how did we get so lucky?

One of the best things about volunteering at The Wednesday Community Meal is that I get to work with my friends each week.

The aim of the free meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is always to serve hospitality and a delicious and nutritious meal to those in need. But, who says you can't also have some fun while you work?

It's such a joy each week to work among smiling volunteers and hear lots of chatter and laughter. One of my favorite sounds in the whole world is hearing volunteers and longtime friends Martha and Leah visiting and giggling. Their glee is infectious. Hearing them happy, makes me happy.

You know, I believe friendship just may be secret sauce that makes our meal program thrive.

It was a joy spending time with my friends today and helping to serve 290 meals.

Most of the guest today got homemade chicken enchiladas and roasted red potatoes that we topped with a bit of cheese sauce.

Three of my favorite people, Linda, Steve and Leah. Steve is part of our super dishwashing team and he was putting away pans when I told Linda and Leah to grab him for a quick picture. They are great!

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.

Cold And Hungry

The Wednesday Community Meal's indispensable team of volunteer dishwashers. Thank you Steve, Jay, Bill, Kevin and Dave!

It's been an especially rough week for Portland's homeless community.

A Sunday snowstorm and ensuing freezing rain resulted in the Monday and Tuesday closures of most of our community's food agencies, including The Food Pantry at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

So our homeless friends not only had to face harsh weather conditions, they had to face food scarcity for days. 

It was such a relief to wake up this morning to clear roads and know that The Wednesday Community Meal would happen. Our guests needed us. 

"Thank for for what you do, I was really hungry," said one of our guests as he was leaving today.  I am so happy that we were able to help.

I am also thankful for all of our dedicated volunteers who each Wednesday cook, serve, clean and wash dishes. It takes many hands to pull off an "everyone is welcome," free meal and we are blessed to have the help of so many nice volunteers.

We served 296 meals today.

Escaping The Rain

We tend to serve fewer guests at The Wednesday Community Meal when it's raining.

My theory is that those with housing or in a shelter opt to skip the wet trek to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and stay inside and dry. It's primarily our homeless guests who join us rain or shine.


There's been record breaking rain in Portland this week and our lower 251 meal number reflected that.

One guest who takes the time to visit with me for a few minutes each Wednesday said, "This rain has been really hard on me." And then he politely asked, "Do you think I could have some extra food to go?" I was happy to oblige since we had plenty and we were also granting requests for seconds in the dining room.

Our aim at the meal is always, if we have the food, let's do our best to accommodate everyone.

Most of the guests who joined us today got an Italian sausage on a roll with sides of baked potatoes, coleslaw and roasted apples. Later guests were served entrees of steak and mushrooms, chili rellenos and orange chicken. Everyone was also offered soup, salad, dessert and drinks.

A lunch ready to be served.  Since the baked potatoes were small, guests got two.

The desserts we served were donated by Trader Joe's and New Seasons Market.

Happy To Serve Inside

Cindy, Leo, Dorrie and Courtney were part of a great team of volunteers who worked in the dining room today. Serving hundreds of meals during the two hour service is hard work, but they make it look easy, and they always have a smile for our guests.

I'm so happy we were able to go back to serving Trinity Episcopal's Wednesday Community Meal inside today. We served sack lunches last week due to the dining room being set up for the Cathedral's Community Thanksgiving Meal. 

It's been terribly cold and rainy here in Portland and the weekly respite of a hot, sit down meal in a warm dining room is so important, especially to our homeless guests.

Those who joined us today were treated to oven-baked chicken with rice, gravy, roasted vegetables and melon. There was also soup, salad, dessert and lots of hot coffee and cocoa.
 

Today's lunch.

We served 261 meals today.

Hot Lunches To Go

Leah and Kate were part of a small but great crew of volunteers who helped prepare and hand out the hot lunches today.

We served hot lunches to go at today's Wednesday Community Meal since Kempton Hall, where we usually serve, was being set up for tomorrow's Community Thanksgiving Meal.

Because it's been so cold here, it was important to us to still serve a hot meal that would warm our guests, so we made vegetarian chili, hot dogs and brownies.

Most of the beans that we used for the chili were donated by Shephard Chiropractic Clinic which recently held a canned food drive for us.

To the beans, we added zucchini, red onion, tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, cumin and a secret final ingredient — tofu! We received a donation two cases of silken tofu from Good Samaritan Hospital and it worked perfectly in the chili. It added lots of lean protein to the dish and no one even noticed it was there.

When I mentioned to one guest that there was tofu in the chili he wasn't fazed a bit and said, "That was so good, I hope you make it again."

We served 200 meals today.

Warm Bread

Today we served 340 lunches at Trinity Episcopal's Wednesday Community Meal and the highlight of of every plate was warm, just baked bread.

The bread was donated to us by Good Samaritan Hospital and came par baked and frozen. The hospital gave us three cases and it was so simple to prepare. All we had to do was bake it for 5 minutes in a 350-degree oven and voila! — fresh bread!

As the one who in the past has made bread dough from scratch for the meal, I can't even begin so say what a convenience this was.

In the hopes that we could get away with serving the bread without butter, we topped it with a bit of cheese, minced garlic and parsley before baking. Our plan worked and the guests loved it.

One man came up to the window as he was leaving and asked if he could have some more bread to go. When I handed it to him he said, "oh my,  it's still warm," and gave me the biggest smile.

Warm bread is spirit lifting and was exactly what our guests needed on this damp Portland day.

Great Gleaning

Desserts gleaned from New Seasons Market.

Just like last week, had lots of good luck with our gleaning for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Wednesday Community Meal and were able to keep our costs low.

Thanks to three local businesses, today's dessert course was well covered. From the New Seasons Market on NW Raleigh, we got brownies, cupcakes, tarts, and cakes; from the Trader Joe's on NW Glisan we got pies and cheesecake; and from Ken's Artisan Bakery we got chocolate chunk cookies and an assortment of buttery pastries and tarts. 

All of the soup and entrees we served today were courtesy of Lift Urban Portland, Good Samaritan Hospital, Phil's Uptown Meat Market and The Oregon Food Bank. Because of their generosity, our guests today got treated to sliced pork, leg of lamb, chicken, salmon, crab cakes and as a side, tortellini that we baked in a cheesy red sauce and topped with oven roasted tomatoes.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral purchased the ingredients for the salads that we served. 

An entree of sliced pork, tortellini and green beans.

But that's not all, as guests were leaving, we handed out bananas and the cutest little red delicious apples that our gleaners picked up from The Oregon Food Bank. 

Our gleaners picked up a case of these cute red delicious apples from The Oregon Food Bank.

Thanks to the work of our gleaners and volunteers and the generosity of our community partners and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, we served 277 meals today.

A Fantastic Bargain Of A Meal

A meal of beef fajitas.

The most expensive part of putting on the Wednesday Community Meal is buying the protein. It's hard to find donations of lean meat. So typically each week, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral purchases it for the free-for-everyone weekly meal.

Of course, there's a budget that we need to stay within, so we shop sales and look for deals. We usually buy pork or chicken.  

Beef is the protein that rarely makes an appearance on our menu. But today was different. The best part: It was all free!

Our guests were able to enjoy homemade beef fajitas because of donations of high-quality beef from two of our wonderful community partners, Lift Urban Portland and Good Samaritan Hospital.

Lift Urban Portland donated two giant roasts; Good Samaritan Hospital gave us 40 six-ounce steaks.

We chose to make fajitas because we knew slicing the beef thin and adding peppers, onions and tomatoes would make it go farther, feeding more people.

After the beef fajitas, we served chili-topped baked potatoes, chicken skewers, meatloaf, ribs, chicken curry and ham. The latter was a gorgeous spiral cut ham from Whole Foods, donated by a Trinity parishioner.

A ham meal.

All of the proteins we served today were donated and helped us stay way under budget. Here's the breakdown: We spent $149.08 on ingredients for today's meal and served 398! That's soup, salad, entree, dessert and drinks for .37 cents a person! It was delicious, too.

Handmade Scarves

Volunteers Sam, Justine, Martha and Leah modeling scarves made by Chieko.

Guests at today's Wednesday's Community Meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral were gifted handmade scarves all lovingly knitted and donated by a wonderful woman named Chieko who is the mother of volunteer Nancy. 

It was such a generous gift and everyone enjoyed choosing their scarf from the large array of choices. It was so kind of Chieko to make them for our guests and I can't even begin to imagine the hours of knitting that she must have put in to make them.

Look at all of the scarves Chieko made! And that's not even all of them — there are more in the bag under the table. This photo was taken by volunteer J. Anderson who laid all of them out and oversaw their distribution.

We served 349 meals during our two hour service today and our entrees were also extra special because of a generous donation of chicken quarters and legs of lamb from Lift Urban Portland. Alongside the chicken and lamb, we served mashed potatoes and gravy and peas and carrots — Real comfort food that pleased our guests.

A baked chicken meal.

A roasted leg of lamb meal.