Easter food giveaway finds people embracing some spiritual renewal
Church hadn’t even finished wrapping up Easter morning for most and the line at the Calumet Township Multipurpose Center was already 15 cars deep.
The line was enough to persuade the Rev. Dwight Pointer, pastor for the Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church of Gary, to throw up the garage doors 15 minutes early to start spreading the goodness within: the choice of a baked chicken or rib tip dinner with spaghetti and potato salad sides, a dinner roll and two big slices of pound cake. To make the dinner complete, everyone got a bottle of water too.
Originally, the plan was to hand a dinner to everyone in the car only, but people also needed to eat no matter where they were, Pointer said.
“A couple people already said they had their mom at home, so of course we’re going to give them a plate,” Pointer said happily yet exhaustedly during his church’s inaugural Easter dinner giveaway.
“We’ll give as we can.” A collaborative effort among Greater St. Stephen and the Calumet Township Trustee’s office, the dinners were a way to do something for the community after COVID-19 wrecked the holiday last year. And while Pointer and the township office are acutely aware of the continued need to feed those hit hard by the pandemic, those who just needed to see some friendly faces after a year of being cooped up in their homes couldn’t be discounted either. Nor could those who maybe just wanted an extra meal for later.
“It’s just a blessing, whether they need or not,” Pointer said.
Preparation for the meals started Monday of last week, with only a pause for the group to fill 500 Easter gift bags that they passed out
Good Friday in three different locations in the city’s 6th District, Pointer said. And they had help from one of the city’s best big-meal providers: State Rep Vernon Smith, who hosts a citywide Christmas dinner each year.
“It was a busy weekend,” Smith said. “God blessed us with this beautiful day after it being so cold (Thursday), and I believe this is the way we serve God and the way we serve others.”
Calumet Township Trustee Kim Robinson arrived after attending her church and picking up more eggs for her mom. She said she was happy to serve with Pointer “passing out the blessings.”
Having the giveaway at the multipurpose center was a magnet for people who were also headed across the street to browse the flea market. Charles Glasper, 75, of Gary, was one of those browsers.
“I just saw about it now when I was coming past,” Glasper said. “I’ve been tired of just sitting in the house.”
Another couple of women, dressed in their Easter finery, walked across the street from the flea market to pick up some food. They too had just come from church services and were at the flea market.
“My sister called and
said she had other plans, so this became the plan that God had for us,” one of the women said, declining to give her name.