September 9 marked the beginning of another season of Pentwater Community Dinners at the Centenary United Methodist Church, 82 S. Hancock St. For 17 years on Wednesday evenings, from Labor Day to mid-May, volunteers have prepared and served meals for an average of 190 persons from the Pentwater and surrounding community members.
There is no charge for the meal, as the program operates on donations from diners and other supporters. Some people come for the opportunity to socialize with local residents, some come for a night off from cooking and some come because they need the food made available to them. “What’s really wonderful is that the donations made by people who come for the social aspect covers the cost of the meals for folks who need the food,” remarked Elaine Konyha. “It balances out.”
Konyha shared, “It requires the efforts of 35 volunteers per meal to carry out the program. Tasks include ordering and picking up the meal ingredients (usually from Sam’s Club and Gordon Foods in Muskegon, but also from Meijer in Ludington), preparing the food, setting the tables, packaging take-out meals, serving the food and cleaning up afterwards.”
There are cooks, 10 of them, and dishwashers, table waiters, plus soup servers and dessert servers. Some meal preparation, such as peeling 100 pounds of potatoes, occurs on Tuesdays. The meal includes hot and cold beverages, salad, soup, main course and dessert. Volunteers come from several different churches, and desserts are made and donated by many members of the community. Pat Lajko supervises the dessert table and reports, “We can always use more dessert donations, especially cookies for the take-out meals.”
On Tuesday a team member calls the COVE residence in Ludington to find out how many family units are at the facility. On Wednesday the team assembles a fresh meal and a frozen meal for each adult and child at COVE, normally about 60 meals. A volunteer transports those meals to COVE each week. Menus are posted on the church’s website, and folks who cannot get out or who prefer to eat at home can call for take-out meals. Pastor Vaughn Thurston-Cox and Matt and Susan Hacker form the take-out dinner team, greeting those who come to the drive-in reserved spot and delivering the pre-ordered meals identified with their names.
Konyha said, “A few years ago attendees received a survey asking for menu favorites. An astounding 75% response enabled us to choose 10 menus for a rotation to please everyone.”
A couple of crowd favorites max out the seating capacity of the dining room before the starting time of 5 p.m. Take-out meals are picked up 4:30-5 p.m. and the dining service operates from 5-6 p.m.
Occasionally there is a chorus of “Happy Birthday” for someone in the crowd. Winter holidays may include some live music. The volunteers amuse attendees with costumes a couple of times during the year, most certainly for Halloween week. Those with questions, who want to order take-out, or who would like to volunteer a few hours or donate a dessert are encouraged to call the church office at 231-869-5900. Take-out orders must be called in early on Wednesday; leave a name and number of meals needed in voicemail if no one answers. The dining hall entrance and take-out door are located on First Street.
