Butler churches provide meals to feed growing hunger need
The line outside of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church is starting to swell as residents from all over Butler eagerly await for the doors to open. Even in the early evening, the heat has not relented as patrons try to find shade under one of the archways that have the words “Keep innocency and hold fast” etched in the stone.
The closer it gets to 5 p.m. Thursday, July 20, more people gather outside the church, waiting for the weekly community dinner at Katie's Kitchen. There seems to be familiarity among the patrons as they welcome each other with kind words and banter.
The chatter starts to dwindle as the sense of anticipation is replaced with an almost agitated state of hunger. Families with children are ushered to the front of the line, an act of chivalry that allows them not only quicker access to the meals, but gets them in a shaded area while they wait.
The doors open, and after a short prayer delivered by volunteers, the conveyor belt of serving begins.
“Honestly, we have so many new people,” said Loretta Bachman, a volunteer at Katie’s Kitchen since 1994. “I’ve never seen this many people”
Katie’s Kitchen is one of several nonprofits that offers free and nutritional meals to the community each week. Churches, within a few miles from one another, have programs that are designed to provide meals to those in need.
