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.

Thankful

I am so thankful for all the terrific volunteers at The Wednesday Community Meal who pitched in to fill in for me while I was away this week. I appreciate it so much and so do our guests who have come to depend on the weekly meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. It's important to me that we never let them down.

Everyone came together to serve 309 beautiful well-rounded meals and I have no doubt there were a lot of smiles in the dining room.

My friend Cheryl deserves a special shout out for planning the menu around all of the gleaned food. She also kindly snapped and shared a few pictures so I wouldn't feel too left out.

Wednesdays really are a highlight for me and I can't wait to see everyone next week and thank them in person for all their hard work.

Linda and Mary are so dedicated. They come each week to serve in the dining room and are always willing to fill in wherever needed.

I love Diana. She is a dedicated server in the dining room and it's not easy work. The pace is fast, and you're on your feet moving about the large room for two hours straight.

I always appreciate having Tom's help in the kitchen. He fits volunteering at the meal around his work schedule and comes in regularly to help every other week. He is great to work alongside and makes everyone miss him on the weeks he's gone.

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.

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.

A Supportive Family

My niece Rachel and my daughter Eleanor working at the Wedneday Community Meal today. In the background is my nephew Sam.

It's pretty much a given in my family that if you are visiting me on a Wednesday, I'll ask you to work at the Wednesday Community Meal.

My niece Maya and nephew Sam who live just blocks away from me are regular volunteers as is my daughter Eleanor and they helped again today along with my nieces Rachel and Gese who are visiting from Ellensburg, Washington.

Also joining us was Gese's friend Mary who was such a  good sport and enthusiastic when I asked her to help. She said she'd be happy to and that it actually sounded fun.  I felt spoiled having six extra helpers today.

Starting at 7 a.m. this morning, we made a shopping trip to Cash 'n' Carry for pork loin and salad ingredients. I knew we would have a large crowd with it being the fifth Wednesday of the month and wanted to be sure we had enough lean protein for our meal. It was so nice to have help carrying everything to and from the car.

Once in the kitchen of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, there was lots of prep-work to be done. Eleanor and Rachel took on slicing just-picked cucumbers from garden of volunteer Kate and Gese and Mary washed and cut green beans from the Oregon Food Bank.

Maya was on kale chopping duty with Ginny and Fran and Sam helped get the pork loin ready for the oven.

My niece Maya helping Ginny and Fran chop kale for the meal. In the background in the white t-shirt is my other niece Gese.

The Wednesday Community Meal really is a team effort.

Once we started serving at 11 a.m, Gese and Mary worked at the exit table, handing out extra items like bread and pastries and saying goodbye to guests as they left. They said they really enjoyed meeting the guests and visiting with them.

Rachel worked alongside Amanda serving soup in the dining room.

Afterwards Rachel told me "the people who eat at the meal are so nice." They are nice people and so are my nieces and nephew for volunteering with me.

We served 400 meals today of oven-roasted pork loin, rice, seasoned slices of crisp cucumber and of course soup, salad and dessert.

Zane took on slicing all the pork loin today and did a super job.

Slices of garden-fresh cucumber donated by volunteer Kate.

Gosh I wish Rachel, Gese and Mary could stay longer and help again next week. I'm going to miss them.

Whistling, er, Washing While You Work

There's no question about it — without the dishwashers, there would be no Wednesday Community Meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

At 8:30 a.m., as soon as the cooking begins, the pots and pans begin stacking up.

Then at 11 a.m., when the doors open for hungry guests, it's plates, silverware, soup bowls and dessert cups on top of the rest.

And, finally, when the doors close at 1 p.m., it's cleanup time and another full hour of work.

It's truly nonstop drudgery. But you'd never know it from the chatter and laughter coming from the dish-washing station. They make it look so easy. I think after years of observation, I've figured out their secret.

It's staying positive and having fun while you work. It's a real team effort and it's a joy to watch.

I'm so blessed to have the best team of dishwashers anyone could ever hope for.

We served 314 meals today but Jay, Bill, Brad, Dave and Steve made it look like a walk in the park.

Thank you for your dedication and inspiration.

Brad, Bill, Jay and Dave pausing for a quick photo

Steve, smiling as he works.