Volunteers keep hospitality kitchen cooking for 25 years |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS, Chronicle Writer
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Thursday, 06 March 2008 19:00 |
TOLEDO—The hospitality kitchen at Toledo Our Lady of Lourdes served its first meal of soup and sandwiches to 21 people in a back room of the church basement on Jan. 23, 1983.
The pastor who asked Deacon Robert Pacholski and his wife, Ginny, to start the ministry anticipated it would only be needed for two or three years until the economy turned around.
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| Chief cook Margaret Stacey adds the finishing touches to a pan of
potatoes at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality Kitchen as other
volunteers work in the background. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens) |
“Famous last words,” chuckles Deacon Pacholski, 85, who has now been serving guests at the kitchen with his wife for a quarter of a century. The operation has grown to accommodate hundreds of people for lunch in a large hall of the church basement every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Deacon Pacholski estimates they serve as many as 20,000 meals a year, with the help of more than 50 volunteers from Our Lady of Lourdes and the wider community.
Before the serving line opens each week, dozens of workers bustle to prepare lunch and pack bags of food to give away.
Shortly before mealtime one recent Wednesday, helpers were pulling heavy trays of potatoes, rice and meatloaf from the oven to allow chief cook Margaret Stacey to inspect the dishes and add any finishing touches.
Mrs. Stacey, a member of Toledo Our Lady of Lourdes who turns 87 this month, has served in the kitchen since it opened.
She helps sort and prepare food on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, cooking many dishes from scratch. Every week, she makes a different type of soup, and the leftovers are served during parish bingo on Thursdays.
Mrs. Stacey says she didn’t bring any prior experience to the job all those years ago, but “you learn if you’re willing to learn as you go along.” She says she enjoys her work in the kitchen, and views it as a blessing.
“You get tired, but you feel good because you’re doing it for somebody else,” says Mrs. Stacey.
Six drivers help pick up donations of food from area grocers, restaurants and caterers. The hospitality kitchen also counts on steadfast support from parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes and nearby St. Joan of Arc, and other faith communities ranging from Christian churches to the nearby Hindu temple.
Guests waiting in line for a meal are invited to pick out bread and produce to take home, and those living in southwest Toledo ZIP codes receive a bag of groceries at the end of the meal. Depending on availability, the kitchen also gives away cakes to guests who are celebrating birthdays within the week.
Grabbing the microphone at the front of the serving hall, Deacon Pacholski cheerfully calls out, “Remember, take what you want, but eat what you take!”
Amazingly, the deacon notes the kitchen has never run out of food, even on the memorable day in August 1983 when attendance peaked at 1,013 people. On that day, he says a Kroger store they had never heard from happened to call shortly past 11 a.m. offering surplus food.
“We didn’t get through serving until 3 o’clock,” says Deacon Pacholski.
The mission at the kitchen is simple, according to the deacon. “We just try to serve and be of help to the needy.”
He notes the volunteers do not only feed people with food, but also with companionship.
Regulars like Sylvania Franciscan Sister Felicitas Magon provide a warm welcome to those who come for a meal. The 93-year-old sister, nicknamed “Sister Cupcake” for her job dishing out sweets in the serving line, says she particularly enjoys visiting with the older clients at the kitchen.
“I feel that’s another prayer,” she says. “Just talking to them raises up their spirits.”
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Last Updated on Monday, 22 September 2008 09:18 |
