rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON — “I just like to feed people,” said Columbia Cross Road’s Cynthia Kennedy.
The idea for God’s Kitchen came to Kennedy when she kept hearing “feed the people” from God. She knew what this meant, and she knew how to feed people, with experience her previous job at Moose’s Munchies in Troy.
God’s Kitchen is privately run by Kennedy and the help of her volunteers, with New Life Church in Canton providing her with the necessary cooking equipment and the space. The free meal comes once a month from 5-7 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month.
There’s a lot of planning and hard work that goes into this monthly event.
“We start our prep work anywhere from a week to two weeks ahead of time, depending on what our meal is,” said Kennedy.
The preparation is needed because everything that is given is homemade by Kennedy and her volunteers. Kennedy says, for example, homemade rolls need to be prepared ahead of time to help with time constraints.
The entire operation is based off of donations of all sorts that Kennedy receives from fellow church members and also members of the community.
“Our meals right now are based on donation of meat. All the hamburger so far has come from Ben and Karla Mullen,” said Kennedy. The group also just received a donation of four turkeys towards the cause.
Sometimes the Kennedys themselves pay for the supplies needed, depending on the amount to purchase for that month’s meal.
The 2 p.m. volunteers come the day of the dinner to help prepare the food and begin take-out options. There are also volunteers who come and pick up the take-out orders and give them to those who are not able to come themselves. This may include people at local manors, or someone who is not able to drive, or even someone who was recently diagnosed with Covid.
At 5 p.m., the second set of volunteers come to help serve the food to those who come to the dinner to eat.
“Marti Detweiler will put order forms that I made out and people will sign up for the food. She will then deliver it to them,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy began her vision last year after hearing, and taking action, with her call from God. This happened after her pastor had preached about “What is God calling on you to do?”
“I didn’t know where it was going to go, when I started the vision, but Pastor David and Denise Ayers (of New Life Church) were very supportive and I wrote a mission statement for them to take to the board of directors, and they said go for it!”
To Kennedy, a monthly meal was nothing new for her to run. She had been running a free Thanksgiving meal at the church every Thanksgiving for the past six years.
“That went from 25, to 75 people, and this year we served 150-175 people and actually ran out of turkey,” said Kennedy.
Though still in its first year, God’s Kitchen has seen numbers grow from 35, to 75, to almost 200 currently.
Food is available to anyone and everyone, until it runs out, which hasn’t happened yet with God’s Kitchen.
“It’s exciting. When we get close to running out of food, we get excited,” said Kennedy, “Because you know you’re feeding people. It’s definitely a community effort.”
Kennedy says it’s not even just about the food, but the socialization as well.
“It’s amazing how many people want to be a part of it,” said Kennedy.
Showing her notes she received from people who were thankful for the meal, Kennedy says she can’t help but to be proud and happy that she made those people happy.
A note from McCallum Manor read: We thank you for the dinners you’re bringing us. They are all very good. Thank you.
“That’s million bucks for me,” said Kennedy, who keeps them all in a little box at the church.
“It’s not about money. It’s about being with people,” said Kennedy, who says it’s also a great night for chatting and networking with other local people.
“Maybe someone needs a word of encouragement, and they’re out talking (at this event) and they get that,” she said. “It’s good to see people come and laugh and talk, and get to know others.”
Kennedy and her volunteers kicked off 2022 meals with two different kinds of chili last week, along with corn bread and cookies. To personalize the meals, Kennedy always includes a Bible verse in with the meal.
This month’s read: Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28. God’s Kitchen will be praying God shows you the evidence of his eternal love and kindness to you and your family today and throughout the new year.
The kitchen also offers peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and gluten free options with their meals. All meals are free, but donations are always welcome.
Donations can be given to Kennedy, or taken or mailed to New Life Church, with a note stating the funds are for God’s Kitchen.
Volunteers for this project include: David Ayers, Denise Ayers, Christy Buck, Cindy Castle, Marti Detweiler, Sean Gisinger, Helen Gisinger, Roxie Holmes, Jana Kauffman, Paulette Knecht, Jasmine Mayek, Brent Mayek, Ben Mullen, Karla Mullen, Dolly Reedy, Sally Route, Tim Kennedy, Liz Digan, Jessica Schneider, Jason Schneider.
“I love the kitchen,” said Christy Buck, whose children attend on occasion to help as well.
“I love helping and cooking and cleaning, I like it all,” added Liz Digan.
New Life Church is located at 299 McMurray Road in Canton.
For more information on the program, you can find God’s Kitchen on Facebook. The next meal will be Thursday, Feb. 17, from 5-7 p.m. at New Life Church.