NARROWSBURG, NY – At 11:50 a.m., the crowd gathering in the cold rain outside St. Paul’s Church parish hall is talkative, upbeat, and hungry. The doors to Katie’s Café, a free community meal program, open at 12 noon, but the wet weather and the guests’ unbridled enthusiasm guarantee early admission. In they come, trying to guess the menu from the aromas that greet them.

Community meals are a fast-growing trend of rural life in New Millennium America. An outgrowth of food pantries and food banks, they seek to fill needs unmet by those food distribution services. “We aren’t reaching some of the people who need help most, and we aren’t providing all the help some people need,” one food pantry staffer confided.

For the holidays

During the holiday season, when rich and festive food is associated with the celebrations, the need is especially poignant. Some organizations in our area have responded with special programs that provide traditional dinners for those who are going through hard times and otherwise might not be able to afford them. The Narrowsburg Ecumenical Food Pantry provides holiday ham dinner baskets with all the trimmings, to be distributed on December 22. Also during the holiday season, you can contribute to the pantry by putting food in barrels at Peck’s, which Peck’s will match. Grace Episcopal Church in Honesdale, PA, will offer a Christmas lunch on December 25. Beach Lake Methodist Church in Beach Lake, PA also plans a Christmas lunch, on December 13. St. John’s Episcopal Church in Monticello, NY will have a special holiday pantry on December 22.

Year round

“The people we serve are grateful for what is provided, but some of them are also incapacitated by illness, injury or age-related conditions that make meal preparation difficult or impossible. And some of them lack food storage and cooking facilities where they live,” said the same staffer. To hear her tell it, most of the needy also suffer the stigma, isolation, loneliness and despair often experienced by the poor, sick and unemployed.

Community meals are typically hosted by churches and other not-for-profit organizations, but no church affiliation, religious faith or devotional practice is required for attendance. All who present themselves are welcomed and none are asked to join the host church or organization. A community meal is strictly food service and fellowship.

Burgeoning since the Great Recession, community meals have their roots in colonial America; the first Thanksgiving meal is probably the first documented instance of a community meal. In the Upper Delaware region, the practice continued well into the mid-20th century. Covered dish suppers, aka potluck dinners, were usually held on Sunday afternoons, were frequently spontaneous events and involved no invitations, reservations, or catering. All local residents, as well as their guests and visitors, were welcome to attend, and each family was expected to bring one food course, often a favorite recipe or signature dish from the lady of the house. But, with the passing of many area dairy farms in the late ‘60s, their popularity waned, and they all but disappeared until their recent return in the guise of community meals.

Says Rob Holmstrup, driving force behind Katie’s Café, “In the beginning, meals were meticulously planned, with detailed menus, donors and servers lined up well in advance. But soon after its inception, the program began to run itself. Without asking for them, food donations pour in. Almost everyone who comes brings food. And we’ve never had to worry about having enough desserts – they come in spades.” Asked if adversity is the main draw, Holmstrup says, “I think it’s loneliness. Many of our guests are retirees and the elderly. They’re looking for a place to see old friends and meet new ones. This is a social hour, but we also offer takeout.”