Feeding souls: Church group helps power center’s community meals

INDIANAPOLIS — The crew on kitchen duty today has slid four large trays of Salisbury steak into the black-topped oven, along with four large trays of scalloped potatoes.

Sometimes, when it’s their turn to prepare the meal, they make chicken. Or lasagna. But the Salisbury steak seems to often draw comments that it was a good meal.

This group of volunteers from Mt. Comfort United Methodist Church has plenty of regulars. Several times a year, the church sends a group to Fletcher Place Community Center to serve one of the hot meals the center offers to the community each weekday. Some people sign up for the task every opportunity they can.

“I have lots of good help,” said Rose McKinney, missions coordinator for the church. She estimates the church has been sending a group to serve meals for at least 25 years.

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After McKinney makes a big warehouse grocery run the day before, the repeat volunteers know what needs to be done to prep the meal and can go about the work smoothly, she said.

The meal offered is an early dinner on Monday and Wednesday and a breakfast on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The Mt. Comfort group serves dinner.

More than 20 churches and other groups sent volunteers in 2018 to serve meals at the center, with some claiming a regular monthly date. On its website, the center estimates it served more than 18,000 hot meals last year “to our hungry neighbors, the homeless, seniors and families.”

The center, at 1637 Prospect St., has strong United Methodist roots, originating in 1872 as a church outreach to the southeast side of downtown Indianapolis, according to the site. In the red brick storefront where it operates today — across the street from a cellphone store, a barber shop and a building marked “saloon” — the center offers a community garden, food pantry, free store and other programs, including the meals.

“It doesn’t cost us anything (to volunteer),” said John Stumph of the Mt. Comfort group. “The people here can get some use out of it.”

While the meal cooks there’s a little down time for these volunteers. So they bundle plastic flatware in paper napkins; there are about 90 bundles, and they seal each roll with a praying hands sticker.

Rick Aldrich helps with that task and with setting out prepackaged Rice Krispie Treats for the dessert table. He’s been coming here about four years and was drawn, he said, by the opportunity to serve and help people.

“It’s enjoyable meeting the people and talking to them,” he said.

His wife, Kathy, agrees.

“Different people, all walks of life,” she said. “Just getting to talk with them … makes you feel good.”

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