This choreography happens in a space worthy of any top chef.
It takes 96 cans of household-size tuna to make lunch. Scott Rubel, a first-time volunteer from the Inclusion & Diversity Group at Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, dishes up some corn chowder. The group comes every month to help out.
Some days it seems impossible to get dinner on the table for a family of four. Now, imagine what it would be like if you had to multiply that number by 40.
“It really does take a village to keep us going,” said Kathy Tobin, director of program development at Friends of the Homeless and former area television news anchor and director.
“We think of Springfield as a small community but we serve a very large need here. We are the largest emergency shelter outside of Boston for the whole state. We’re not a soup kitchen, we’re more than that, and we could not do what we do without an incredible team of people.”
A small but dedicated staff and a crew of regular community volunteers to serve the hungry every day, three times a day.
The organization’s dining hall is said to have never missed a meal since opening its new Worthington Street campus in June 2010. The kitchen is restaurant-licensed, not because it has to be but because organizers want to feed as many people as they can.
The menu changes regularly based on what comes in the door and how many are served each day at the hour-long breakfasts, lunches and dinners. An average of 160 meals is dished up at dinner with the bulk of the traffic served in 17 minutes. One January night, some 192 people were feed.
It is an efficient operation. Trucks, for example, from the Springfield-based Performance Food Group and Rachel’s Table unload deliveries at the loading dock that leads right to the food store areas. Donations also come from Project Bread, the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
Pantry cages that contain deliveries and donations from Performance Food Group, Rachelâs Table, Project Bread, and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Local restaurateurs also contribute food to the stock that feeds the hungry.
Breakfast preparation starts around 6 a.m. for service at 8 a.m.; lunch prep begins around 10:30 a.m., then dinner prep around 1:30 with that meal served at 4:30 p.m.
By 6:30 p.m., the kitchen is closed, cleaned and ready for another day.
This choreography happens in a space worthy of any top chef. It’s a stark difference to the teeny “old kitchen up on the hill” with one stove.
The work area features all the standard commercial kitchen amenities plus a reach-in refrigerator, pass-through hot box, and heavy-duty grill and stove that are kept sparkling clean.
The steamer can make 360 hard-boiled eggs in 18 minutes and perfect potatoes for the often-requested homemade potato salad.
There is no deep fryer for health reasons, but there is hope for a stack-on convection oven to allow for more baking to be done at one time.
The priority of the nutrition and food service programs at is to take care of a high-risk population that is nutritionally-challenged and often struggling with health issues. Last year, a health initiative reinforced the decision to cut sugar and salt amounts by half.
The spotless Friends of the Homeless restaurant-licensed kitchen space that serves so many three times a day and has never missed a meal since opening its new Worthington Street Campus in June 2010.
For many of the people who come to dine, interacting with the staff and volunteers is the best part of their day.
“We look away from people in need, thinking it’s the compassionate thing because we never know what to say or what to do,” Tobin said.
“For the person who’s homeless, that means they can go a whole day without anyone looking them in the eyes or addressing them as a real person or acknowledging that they’re there and that they matter. We bring a smile and a hug along with the menu in the kitchen.”
Recently, Ron Slate, an employee who gave up his lunch at Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, to service.
“This is my second time volunteering because there are a lot of people at work very interested to volunteer here each week,” Slate said.
“It’s eye-opening and everyone we meet is great. But not for a few details, that could be me on the other side. I’m happy to lend a hand.”
To learn more about Friends of the Homeless, visit www.fohspringfield.org.
To donate money for a meal in the Dining Room, contact Kathy Tobin at (413) 732-3069, ext. 131. To volunteer to serve meals, contact Patrice Parke at call 413-732-3069, ext. 148.
Friends of Homeless dining facts:
The following is a Friends of the Homeless recipe. One is a family version and the one that they use in their kitchen that serves 100.
Corn chowder
(Serves 8)
1/2 cup onions, small dice
1/4 cup green peppers, small dice
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups hot water
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 pound potato, peeled small cubes
1 15 ounce can cream corn
1 15 ounce can whole kernel corn
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon parsley, dried
Directions: Sauté onions and peppers in butter until onions are transparent. Add flour to make roux. Add remaining ingredients and cook until potatoes are tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Corn chowder
Serves 100
4 pounds onions, small dice
2 pounds green peppers, small dice
1 pound butter
1 pound flour
2 gallons hot water
2 gallons milk
5 pounds potato, peeled small cubes
1 No. 10 can cream corn
1 No. 10 can whole kernel corn
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, dried
Directions: Sauté onions and peppers in butter until onions are transparent. Add flour to make roux. Add remaining ingredients and cook until potatoes are tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.