Savory celebration at Salvation Army in Westminster
The Brass Hat Cafe marks one year of free meals
A sweet, smoky aroma was on the breeze in Westminster as burgers and hot dogs came off the grill, music drummed from a DJ’s speakers and children played between picnic tables.
“I love it. I am so happy we were able to do this whole thing outside,” said Nina Christian, service unit manager at the Salvation Army of Carroll County.
The Spring Fling Cookout last Wednesday at the Salvation Army’s building at 300 Hahn Road celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Brass Hat Cafe, an operation of the Salvation Army branch.
From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, people can come and receive a free hot meal — no questions asked. People can even order carryout.
“We’ve done almost 12,000 meals in this past year and the community has taken to it so well,” Christian said. “We’ve had so many great comments on how having this meal Sheree Bell, standing at left, a volunteer from Union Bridge, shares a laugh with, from left, Maj. Gene Hogg, Salvation Army of Central Maryland area commander; Nina Christian, Carroll County service unit manager; Kendallyn and Kayden Vick and their grandmother Peggy Vick, director of social services for the Salvation Army of Central Maryland, during the Brass Hat Cafe Community Spring Fling Cookout Wednesday at the Salvation Army in Westminster. three times a week has been such a help financially.”
The cafe started off small, recalled Ed Wilson of Westminster, who volunteered to help cook that first meal last April.
“We only had five people that first day,” he said. “God provided and it grew.”
By the summer, the cafe was averaging 100 people per night, Christian said.
“In the wintertime it was a little slower, but we were still averaging 75 to 100 people each night,” she said.
While the meals are free, the Salvation Army accepts donations to help run the program. Information about the Brass Hat Cafe, including ways to donate or volunteer, is available online at salvationarmycm.org/ brass-hat-cafe.
Rebecca and Curtis Marquat of Westminster and their children, Kayla, 8, Michelle, 5, and Marie, 3, have also been coming to the Brass Hat Cafe since it launched.
“We came to their food distribution a week before, where they announced they were starting dinners three nights,” Rebecca Marquat said. “I had just been telling my husband, ‘I think we need a little help with dinners.’ I’m a stay-at-home mom and I home-school.”
The prospect of a free hot meal can be a big help, she added. Her children have their favorites.
“My daughter’s absolute favorite is their spaghetti and meat sauce, and even our son liked it because we can get it without anything on it for him,” she said.
“And what was that big slab of meat that you liked?” she asked her husband. “The brisket,” he answered with a nod. Wilson was enjoying a burger himself at the cookout Wednesday, and said he would continue to volunteer for the Salvation Army and the Brass Hat Cafe because the Salvation Army had helped him and his family when their house burned down in 2006.
As the DJ called out the winners of raffled gift cards and gathered the children for a game of musical chairs, Christian pondered the first year of the Brass Hat Cafe, and the next.
“It’s been an amazing journey, it really has,” she said. “We’re going to keep trucking on.”
“We only had five people that first day [last April]. God provided and it grew.”