The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Neighbor to Neighbor Meal unites community
The Christian tenet of “loving your neighbor as you do yourself” is the basis for St. Noel’s Neighbor to Neighbor Meal which serves hundreds of people each month at the banquet center adjacent to the Willoughby Hills church.
The program began in 2015 as a joint proposal of the parish’s social justice committee and pastoral council after they realized that their groups were leaning heavily on works of mercy and not doing enough advocacy work, according to Sharon Waltermire, one of the program’s founders.
“When we surveyed the whole parish on what we could do, it was serving a meal,” she said, adding that the meal is an effective way to draw people in but that “it’s not so much about the food, it’s about creating a neighborhood.”
Concept inspires action
The idea moved forward by uniting people from the parish with the community, including neighbors registered with the church’s food pantry, GED ministry, prison family ministry, deaf community and anyone else who wanted to be involved.
“We had no expectations that everyone would be needy,” said St. Noel Pastoral Associate Anthony Camino, another of the program’s originators. “The reality is that people who come have a need for food, for company or both.”
Differentiating St. Noel’s community meal from some others is its emphasis on a shared approach as well as its celebratory presentation.
“One of our goals is to recognize common bonds, for parishioners to see these people as equals,” Camino said. “What we’re trying to do is dismantle barriers between those who serve and those who are served.”
The gathering
More than 300 people took part in the Neighbor to Neighbor St. Patrick’s Daythemed meal on March 8.
At 5 p.m. many already waiting outside the doors were warmly greeted and seated at round tables neatly set with green tablecloths, china and silverware. St. Paddy’s Day derby and tie centerpieces enhanced the cheerful mood.
A buffet table teeming with hot foods and dessert was manned by volunteer servers waiting for dinner to commence.
Camino said that among the most common remarks heard from people entering the festive facility each month is that it resembles a wedding event.
“It’s such a unique thing among these types of (community) meals,” he said. “It’s a beautiful thing for me to see people’s reactions when they come in.”
Parishioners often sit at tables with strangers and serve as a friendly presence.
Joe and Ada Gornik are members of the parish who’ve shared many meals with newcomers.
“It’s amazing to me how many people come from different walks of life,” Joe said. “Everyone has a story.”
The couple spoke of meeting a young girl who was living out of her car, had no food or gas money but was told about the meal. Somehow she made it to the event and shared dinner and conversation with them.
Afterwards she was provided with additional food to take with her.
“There are some really needy people here,” Ada said. “But a lot come not just for the food. Some live alone and want to talk to someone. Some can afford to eat at a restaurant, maybe, but a lot can’t.”
At the onset of the program Joe said he was skeptical of how it would develop. But after several positive experiences that skepticism is gone.
“You talk to people and find out we’re all the same,” he said. “There may be people in the cracks but they come out of the cracks here.”
One man who attended the meal said he comes not only to socialize but to alleviate financial issues.
“It helps when you’re retired,” he said. “You think you’re gonna make it but you don’t make it.”
Willoughby Hills Councilman John Plecnik said he attends the meal frequently to associate with neighbors and greet community members.
“It really brings our community together, but that’s what St. Noel does,” he said. “When we break bread together, when we eat together, you get to know each other.
“I think St. Noel’s is really achieving what they set out to do,” he added. “I’ve talked to people from Akron and Ashtabula that come here.”
Practical details
For such a large undertaking to operate efficiently many different elements are required.
Among the myriad of tasks are creating menus, ordering and picking up food, sending out emails and organizing the approximately 70 volunteers needed for each meal.
Costs are kept low largely due to donations, minimally priced food items, the crew of volunteers and an on-site kitchen led by chef Michael Mills.
Often guests are invited to take home items from the “bonus table.” March’s parting gifts were apples, potatoes, squash, sausage, dinner rolls and bagels.
In conjunction with the meal, professional volunteers are on hand to help attendees with mental health issues, legal aid, medical care, insurance, GED tutoring and more.
At the most recent gathering volunteers were able to sign up qualified people for free Assurance Wireless cell phones.
Camino, Waltermire and others are enthused about the program’s success and regard it as accomplishing its originally intended purpose.
“We see this as a natural extension of the gospel,” Camino said. “We see some extraordinary things that happen here.”