by Katie Patrick
Last month, I wrote about the jovial and hardworking Knights of Columbus who make sandwiches for the homeless and low income families in Lincoln. This week, I want to turn our attention west to our food program services at our outreach office in Hastings, and our food distribution routes across central Nebraska.
Since 2004, Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska in Hastings has partnered with a local nonprofit called Open Table. Open Table is a collaborative, community-based, ecumenical nonprofit whose mission is to provide sandwiches to those in need. Open Table is entirely volunteer-based, however, it does require the coordination and leadership of one Jonie Heckman, CSS volunteer coordinator. CSS serves as the distribution site and thus Jonie communicates with the various church groups who make the sandwiches, and she organizes student groups and others when more sandwiches need to be made.
In 2021, Open Table made and distributed 26,000 lunches to the homeless, the poor and those in need. Sandwiches are distributed by volunteers every week, Monday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. at our office at 333 W 2nd St., in Hastings.
The second major food program that we have in Hastings is our food recovery program. CSS staff and volunteers pick up food that would otherwise be discarded from three local Walmarts and a Sam’s Club, then distribute it across central Nebraska, from Aurora to Benkelmen and Imperial to Superior, delivering the donated meat, vegetables, fruit, bread, etc., to various food pantries. One of the delivery drop-offs for food recovery is the front door of our outreach office. Open Table volunteers distribute sandwiches alongside food from recovery to individuals on Mondays and Thursdays. On these slightly chaotic days we are well staffed with merry volunteers who encounter our clients with generous spirits and heaping handfuls of food.
And while all of the coordination is well and good, I’d like to get to the “meat” of the story. Like Jonie, I enjoy the business side of serving the poor and vulnerable, but what motivates all of us at CSS are the people we encounter along the way. Jonie says it best here…
“The relationship between our clients who come in for food recovery and our volunteers is a critical piece of what we do. It is the way we meet both the physical needs, through the distribution of food, and the relational needs of those we serve.
"We recently had a volunteer require a substitute for his regular shift. The clients are used to seeing the volunteer a few times per week, and look forward to their brief interactions with him. When they came in the door that day and realized he was not there, a high percentage of them asked about where he was and hoped he was okay: 'It’s not the same place without him,' 'thought he could take a day off, huh?' or even 'he works so hard for us, I’m so glad to see he got some time for himself' were some of the responses we received about his absence.
"When we seek assistance for the purchase of equipment, vehicle repairs and the like, we are asking because we know those things will impact the lives of real people. Our volunteers and staff like to see our building and equipment functioning well, so they can more efficiently help our clients. Everything we do at CSS is to impact the clients whom we serve in a positive way, to see their lives changed for the better because we can help meet their basic needs.”
Taking time to get to know our clients and building relationships with them is what we at CSS are called to do. Encounter over transaction. And we love it! May God bless you.
