The Sunday Meals program was implemented on January 3, 2015. We started with UPC plus six area churches and two community groups. We served a hearty dine-in meal every Sunday, free of charge, to anyone who was hungry or lonely. Guests and staff could socialize before and during meals. God’s love was shared as we worked and visited together. Friendships were formed during this time, and we became a family, diverse in nature.
In March 2020 Sunday meals had to pause due to covid. It reopened as a take-out program in June 2021.
In 2022, we added to our guest list by including elderly folks with health issues that make cooking and getting out difficult. The program has continued to grow. Currently, 120 meals are served twice each month. Teams take turns being responsible for planning a hearty meal, shopping, preparing the meal and cleaning up.
All meals are prepared in the kitchen of Hornell UPC the day of the meal. Distribution takes place in the upstairs foyer. Some of our guests help with reservations, cooking, packing meals, distribution, and deliveries. Staff and guests work together and are a diverse group in terms of race, faith, and age.
By helping with the program young people learn the importance of helping those in need. It gives our retired volunteers a sense of purpose.
The UPC congregation is supportive of this mission with finances as well as consistent help with cooking, packing, distribution, and deliveries. There are several ways in which we evaluate the success of our program in relation to Matthew 25: Our guest list, phone calls for reservations, hearty meals, Christmas gift bags that include warm hand knit hats and a pair of gloves, and hopefully an opportunity for more socialization in the near future all show an effort to reflect God’s call to care for those in need. Feedback from guests and volunteers, willingness of churches, community groups and volunteers, including guests, to participate in the program; and continued financial support and donations of food from a variety of sources also reflect the success of the program.