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Need for free meals grows: Food programs in area worry about shortages as economy sours(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 22--WAUKESHA -- Judy Been stirred the heated garlic bread sauce as she nervously eyed the growing line of poor and hungry folks skirting her Salvation Army kitchen, wanting a free meal of spaghetti, meatballs and salad. No one's been turned away for a free meal yet, but poverty programs have limits. The peak of that limit is unknown, because it's never been reached here but could soon be, local poverty agency officials warn. "I'm expecting to serve 140 (meals) tonight," Been, the agency's head cook, said before last Tuesday's meal. "Before the economy went bad, we averaged about 100." Servings of seconds could be a little thin this evening, she was thinking. "There's many nights we've had to put up extra tables or squeezed more chairs around tables," said Rachel Fjellman, a Salvation Army social services director. "There's just not as much food left over for seconds. "Food is something that people can't go without, and we're trying to meet those needs." Free meal kitchens around Waukesha County are coping with attendance spikes from the poor, newly unemployed and financially troubled in need of hot food and sympathetic conversation. A daily meal can be found every day of the week. The main providers are the Salvation Army, 445 Madison St., on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and the Cooperating Congregations of Waukesha County on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Sunday, meals are provided by the Loaves & Fishes organization at the Cooperating Congregations office, 502 N. East Ave. Loaves & Fishes is the oldest free meal program in the county. To some, the meal is as much a social event as it is nourishment. Virginia Radaj of Waukesha is one of several women who call themselves the "bag ladies" because they bag groceries at the Salvation Army on Mondays and pass out the bagged food later. The ladies meet for free meals to talk about local events and their families. "We're regulars here and we like it," she said. David Tennyck, the director of Cooperating Congregations, said participation in his agency's meal program in September and October grew almost 20% over the same two months last year -- 2,933 compared with 2,470. High participation is credited in part to the central location of the agency, near the downtown area that has affordable housing. "We like our location because we're centrally located, and we're where the people are," Tennyck said. Outside of Waukesha, free meal programs in the county are infrequently held. The Cooperating Churches of Oconomowoc hosts a free meal on the last Monday of the month at the Dr. Martin Luther Church. In Menomonee Falls, the Community Banquet serves free meals on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at St James Catholic Church. Volunteers needed Volunteers and donations of cleanup supplies, food and money are appreciated by the meal programs. At the Salvation Army, two young management trainees from GE Medical were working as volunteers in Been's kitchen. One of the volunteers, Shane Achterberg, said a GE-sponsored Community Engagement Committee tries to send volunteers into the community twice a month. Doing community service helps the trainees familiarize themselves with the communities in which they live. Many management trainees are from out of town, he said. To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |