| “Everyone
is welcome and accepted as they are,” says Don Jensen,
executive director of Community Lunch, the Capitol Hill
meal program that serves low-income and homeless individuals
healthy and nutritious lunches twice a week. This service
began over twenty years ago, when a few members of Central
Lutheran Church served a hot meal to nine individuals.
Today, over 360 people partake in Community Lunch each
week and more than 1,000 volunteers help prepare and serve
the food every year.
Jensen ensures that guests find a hearty meal, good
conversation, an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on,
and perhaps make a new friend or two. But this isn’t
your average soup kitchen. Meals are served on porcelain
plates with silverware. Diners sit at tables with tablecloths
and centerpieces. “We welcome them at the door
and encourage them to help themselves to seconds and
thirds,” says Jensen of the organization’s
philosophy. “We create an atmosphere of mutual
respect and hospitality for our guests, a moment of
respite in an otherwise hectic world.”
To learn about volunteer opportunities and ways to
support Community Lunch visit http://communitylunch.org
|
