What's for Lunch?

When I retired from an elementary school teaching career in 2006, I found that there were many ways to fill my days with activities.  Exercise, piano lessons, studying foreign languages and quilting were a few of them.  A longtime friend asked me if I would like to help her fix a monthly lunch for the Street Youth Ministries DropIn program at UPC.  I said yes, and until the spring of 2024 (with the exception of the Covid period) I prepared a monthly lunch for SYM.

From 2006 until the Covid outbreak in 2020, my friend and I got Food Handler permits and used the big UPC kitchen once a month on Fridays to prepare big quantities of enchiladas, chili, mac and cheese, meatloaf, baked potatoes, pulled pork sandwiches, and other hot and filling meals.  We rounded out the meals with homemade cakes and cookies, holiday treats, and tried to make salads and fruits popular as well.  We respected the need for client’s privacy, but enjoyed interacting with the SYM staff, getting to know many of them personally.

When SYM reopened its Drop-In program in 2021, I resumed my monthly Friday meal preparation, using my own home kitchen.  Trays of big burritos, pots of spaghetti sauce, and stuffed pasta shells were some of my go-to meals, with cupcakes or cookies and fruit brought along as well.  I enjoyed driving up to the curb on NE 47th to unload meals and having the youth we serve ask, “What’s for lunch?!”

My husband and I moved to a retirement community in the summer of 2024 and I have redirected my volunteer activities to some other projects that support those in need in our community.  I read the SYM newsletter with great interest and am happy to see how the program is embracing its mission with youth in our community.

Written by Meal Team Volunteer, Nancy Kenagy