April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
WATERVLIET MINISTRY
Three-year-old soup kitchen thriving
"It could be me tomorrow. Our motto is, 'If you're hungry, come,'" volunteer chef Jack Whited says of Mary's Kitchen in Watervliet.
Patrons of area soup kitchens can list their meal options at various sites for every day of the week, but many say they enjoy the variety and the welcoming atmosphere at Mary's Kitchen, begun three years ago by Immaculate Heart of Mary parish.
"You get good fellowship here," said Roger Rice, who brings friends every Monday to the soup kitchen.
On a recent afternoon, Mr. Rice joined about 40 other guests during the opening rush. Up to 70 people frequent Mary's Kitchen each week to feast on soups, salads and sandwiches, as well as treats like casseroles, barbecue and Italian specialties.
A volunteer bakes a cake every week. Fresh fruit and other desserts are available. Area bakeries and supermarkets donate bread that patrons can take home.
A parish garden supplies fresh vegetables for cooking and for the nearly 100 food pantry patrons, who can each take home six pounds of non-perishable items every eight weeks and fresh foods every week.
Ministry soothes
Volunteers at Mary's Kitchen say the overlap in services between the soup kitchen and food pantry has eased some of the pain of the 2005 merger of six Watervliet and Green Island parishes into one. When the soup kitchen started, "everybody stayed in their own little space," explained Frank Garceau, a volunteer chef. Now, volunteers do double duty at both ministries.
"It's a big circle," Mr. Garceau said. "We are one big family."
"It really has been a wonderful community builder for the parish," said Sharon Kowalski, one of three coordinators of Mary's Kitchen and the faith formation coordinator at the parish. "People at the parish just see it as a mission. It's what we're called [to do]: to reach out and serve the needy. To me, it's ministry in its purest form."
Parishioners donate money and food, plus supermarket gift cards that are raffled off to guests. About 15 volunteers serve the food; six more clean up. Members of the Rosary Society made matching aprons for the workers.
Harvest time
One duo tends the garden, harvesting bags of squash, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, basil and more each week. Instead of hauling buckets of water to the plot - as they did when the garden was on St. Patrick's Church property, now up for sale - the gardeners now have access to a hose.
Barbara Voland and her gardening partner check on the patch four times a week and spend their own money on supplies.
"It's a way to contribute," Ms. Voland said.
"I feel good doing it."
A second pair uses the ingredients for the cooking, arriving at 8:30 a.m. on meal day to prepare everything fresh. Lunchtime is in the late afternoon.
Jack Whited helped his chef parents serve hundreds of people at banquets as a child, so his job as a chef at Mary's Kitchen is easy. He even fulfills special requests and makes deliveries in addition to running the food pantry twice a week, caring for a disabled friend and filling in at the parish office.
Save the leftovers
Mrs. Kowalski said the kitchen has been attracting more families with children recently. Luckily, donations and grants have been steady.
"We have a responsibility to provide them with good, healthy food," Mrs. Kowalski said of Watervliet's needy. Leftovers are donated to senior and low-income housing residents, used as stock for soup or fed to animals at a local farm. Rev. L. Edward Deimeke, IHM's pastor, also uses waste to feed squirrels.
Mr. Garceau considers it "a sin to throw [leftovers] away."
A retiree studying to become a deacon, he said the purpose of Mary's Kitchen is "to be here for folks who need nourishment, both physical and spiritual. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for them is to sit down and be there for them.
Respect for all
"There's been a lot of friendships made here," he continued. "It is more than just food. So many people [elsewhere] won't even make eye contact with them. Every person who breathes is a human being who needs respect."
Mr. Garceau's nine-year-old son, Alexei, dries dishes, cooks and hauls supplies during his summer vacations.
"He's learned to be very grateful for what he has," the proud father said. "It's not all about him. It's much larger."
Volunteers Pat Sibincich and Mary Vogel are happiest when they see long lines at the kitchen. They say sitting there with no customers is the worst.
"We help and we give to them," Mrs. Vogel said, "but we also get back ourselves."[[In-content Ad]]
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