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An ‘Abundant Table’ – Five years later, monthly meal satisfies hunger, nourishes spirits

One way or another, the women who started hosting monthly community meals were confident their efforts would be successful. As the group began its sixth year running the Abundant Table meals program earlier this month, they are equally confident the program will still be going strong in the years to come.
For five years, a group of volunteers has hosted a community meal the first Wednesday of each month at Christ Lutheran on North Knight Avenue. They welcomed about 20 people to their first meal in 2013. Today, the meals draw an average of about 65 people per month and organizers say there are months the attendance tops 100. November’s anniversary meal fed 154 guests, 180 after the team and volunteers dined.
Looking forward, the women on the leadership team want to see another church one day join them and create an additional Abundant Table meal to better serve other area residents more often. The group has seen the program grow and more people enjoy the nutritional, social and spiritual benefits of Abundant Table and are confident it will continue to thrive.
Barb Jenneke is one of the long-term leaders of the program. Connie Heitz, Dianne VonBerge, Jane Larter, Mary Jo Schimelpfenig, Deb Heuer, and Chris Davis make up the seven members of the leadership team. Each member of the team, along with the volunteers, works on different facets of the meal. Some handle preparation of vegetables. Others bake homemade bread using a well-established recipe. Decorating tables, setting up and cleaning up are among the many tasks. Musicians have attended the meals performing background music.

(For the complete story, see the Dec. 19 print edition of The Chronicle.)