WAIMEA — Inside the St. James Church kitchen last Thursday morning, member Mel Pobre was passionately demonstrating how best to dice and slice vegetables for a stir fry and the safest way to hold a knife to half a dozen fellow churchgoers. The group was preparing to feed 100 or more people for their first free community meal.
They weren’t waiting for a miracle, such as the loaves and the fishes story taught in Sunday School. The dinner was the first of a weekly program that will continue each Thursday night in the church’s outdoor pavilion, reaching out beyond the congregation to anyone seeking a hot dinner.
Start-up committee members Jane Sherwood, Tim Bostock, Rhonda Bell, Marci Yardley, Susan Acacio, Lisa Winborne, Kim Snodgrass-Holmes and Patti Cook have been cooking up this idea with help from other residents for almost a year now.
“We’re doing this for anybody who is in need of a warm meal in the evening,” Sherwood said. “We chose Thursday evening because Imiola Church is already doing a Wednesday noon meal and the food bank at Annunciation Church is open on Tuesdays, so we wanted to have a dinner so families with kids will come. We know that a large percentage of our kids in Waimea Elementary and Middle School are Title 1, which is free breakfast and free lunch. We’re concerned that those kids aren’t getting an evening meal.”
To help spread the word, fliers were sent home with all of WES and WMS kids and distributed through the food bank at the Annunciation Church.
Food donations come from a variety of sources.
“We got corn, mashed potatoes, baked beans and hamburger from Kahua Ranch’s BBQ,” Bostock said. “KTA gave us carrots and celery that we prepared in a big wok for our stir fry. Kawamata Farms gave us a 20-pound box of tomatoes which we sliced and roasted.”
According to Sherwood, the community meal aims to provide “Blue Zone friendly” nutritious food, with lots of fresh vegetables, a hot casserole dish, salad and desserts. At the first dinner, main dishes were pork stir fry prepared by Pobre and beef stew by Melanie Holt, along with cucumber salad and desserts, among other dishes. Live music, seating for up to 100 people and parking at the front of the church were also provided.
As the program progresses, the church plans to add seniors to the mix and are working hand-in-hand with volunteers from Big Island Giving Tree who deliver the food to areas with the greatest demand.
“Rhonda Bell left earlier tonight with 37 plates of food that she was taking to three people in Waimea and families down at the beach,” Bostock said. “She had arranged for them to meet her, so we knew our food was going to people in need. She’s a real partner in this.”
Sherwood added, “She is one of the other pushers behind this idea. She and I met with our Pastor David Stout and Tim six months ago wondering how we could begin to address her concern on families’ houseless living at the beach without a place to cook or feed their kids decent meals.”
The community meal idea also originated from an idea brought to St. James Church by resident Donni Sheather earlier this year.
Volunteers come from the congregations of St. James Church in Waimea, Paauilo and Kawaihae.
“What’s most interesting to me is how every little piece of this came together. Nothing has been left behind. Along the way, someone said I will get that, I can do that, or I know someone who can do that. It’s been quite remarkable coming together,” Sherwood concluded.
Individuals or groups interested in volunteering or donating food can email EAT@StJamesHawaii.org