“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/