St. Thomas More, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints, First Presbyterian Church and First Christian Church have served over 3,000 meals at the monthly community drive-thru dinner.
Ben Shanahan | Sentinel-Tribune
By Ben Shanahan
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
Feed and tend your sheep.
It’s a simple motto that motivates volunteers at four Bowling Green churches, which serve a free meal every month to anyone who needs it.
St. Thomas More, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints, First Presbyterian Church and First Christian Church have served over 3,000 meals at the monthly community drive-thru dinner. The event, which started in November 2020, has also provided countless bags of groceries since the start.
“In the Bible, Jesus challenges the disciples to feed and tend his sheep, and that has been our motto since the beginning,” said Mike Solley, a volunteer at the drive-thru.
The groups put on an all-expense-paid dinner for any community member who will take it on the second Friday of every month.
“There was a core group of about eight of us who were at the first event, and now with all of the other churches help, more than 30 volunteers come each month, and we would not be able to do all of the work without the help of the four other churches,” Earlene Kilpatrick said. “And now we do not just hand out food, but also groceries to help people even further.”
The groups put on an all-expense-paid dinner for any community member who will take it on the second Friday of every month.
Ben Shanahan | Sentinel-Tribune
The planning process for each month’s drive-thru starts as soon as the last one is completed.
Preparing and serving 157 meals at this month’s event was no easy process, said DeAnna and Scott Baker, who cooked all of the chicken salad sandwiches.
“We are both members of First Christian Church, and about a year in, we decided it was our turn to cook. The hardest part for me was deciding what to make and how to portion it out. Like a tray of lasagna, you can make a batch that you know feeds 12, and then you make how many trays are needed,” DeAnna said.
“But with chicken salad, we bought a bird at Costco, took it off the bone, measured all the stuff, and realized it was about 17 sandwiches per bird. So 10 or 11 birds later, we had enough to serve 157 community members,” Scott said.
The month’s meal featured chicken salad sandwiches.
Ben Shanahan | Sentinel-Tribune
Another goal of this drive-thru is to help everyone, and it doesn’t matter anyone’s background; if you would like a warm meal, this event is here to help.
“I have been involved for about six or seven months. It is very neat to recognize all the people we have served. It does not matter your faith background or income; anyone who would like a warm meal should stop in, and we are here for you,” said Jonathan Kershaw, a volunteer from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The next meal will be on Friday, Aug. 11. More details will be announced at a later date.
“I would love volunteers to come out and help get involved,” Kilpatrick said. The need is real in Bowling Green, and that need is only increasing.”
Contact First Christian Church by phone at 419-354-9889.
