What's on your plate?

I just got back from the grocery store. It was a quick trip for some basics--apples and bananas, a bunch of vegetables (the artichokes look good), and some meat. As I was paying for it, the checker says to me, "Everything you're getting is healthy."

It seems kind of pathetic for that to be noteworthy! The stores are full of all sorts of great food, but so often we're buying all sorts of processed junk full of multi-syllabic chemical ingredients that probably didn't even exist ten years ago. It is nice to eat real stuff without all of the sodium and trans-fats and corn syrup (that stuff's in everything!).

What's on your plate?

God's Love

Yesterday a number of us from Headwaters went down to God’s Love, the local homeless shelter, and made and served a meal to about 50 people. We first met at ExplorationWorks at 10 a.m. for a brief service and then headed over to serve.

A pile of onions and peppers got chopped, beef and sausage got browned, salads got prepped, and the big spaghetti meal all came together pretty quickly. Meanwhile, others got some windows washed, tables wiped down, and some serious crud cleaned off the chairs. In all, it took about 90 minutes to get everything ready for the mid afternoon meal. We were also able to get a truckload of food from Helena Food Share for the women’s shelter (which is run separately from the men’s side where we were making the meal). The second shift came in later in the afternoon to get the noodles cooked, serve the meal, and clean up.

On the weekend, God’s Love serves breakfast and then a meal at 3:30. Typically, one employee makes this all happen! We had 32 of us between the two shifts (and a few did both shifts).

It was great to bring in the food and make and serve the meal. But more than just a meal was made. People serving alongside one another got to know each other a little better. People got to meet and talk with the people who came for the meal. Hopefully we fed both body and spirit in our efforts.