Community suppers offer respite for hungry

Author: Amanda Cormier

At the first Community Supper at the Congregational Church of Middlebury in 2004, Dottie Neuberger and a few other volunteers served 22 meals to low-income, elderly and other members of the community. Four years later, on Nov. 21, 110 people ate a turkey dinner provided by the Waybury Inn, and 50 additional meals were served in to-go boxes to be eaten later.

Although visibility has largely contributed to the increased popularity of the suppers, a spike is expected soon as a result of the plummeting economy. Neuberger, who organizes and runs the suppers each week, said she sees new faces every Friday night.

"There are lots of regulars, which helps build community," she said. "We get a few new people every week."

Pat Chase runs the Community Suppers when Neuberger is out of town and shops for paper goods and food staples for the suppers. She said that the recession has added to the steady clientele of locals who come to the suppers each Friday.

"Our count is up about 25 more each Friday than usual, and has been increasing since the middle of the summer," Chase said. "On average we get about 110 people now. On the day after Thanksgiving, I expected our count to be down a little bit, but it was at around 85."

At the Community Summit on Poverty in Addison County, in 2004, the Middlebury Transitional Care Coalition (MTCC) concluded that there were a great number of underfed people in Addison County. To meet the needs of these people, the MTCC formed the Community Suppers program. A minister at the Congregational Church proposed that Neuberger run the program in addition to her job as Vice-Chair of MTCC.

"And I asked him, 'Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to do it?'," Neuberger said. "And of course, we did it."

Support for the program relies on donations from community organizations in the form of a hot meal or a heated space to those in need. Thirty organizations provide at least one meal each year, with the Congregational Church providing around 12. Volunteers set up tables and serve the food and drinks.

Sarafina Midzik '11 first volunteered for the program last year when Havurah, Addison County's Jewish congregation, sponsored a dinner. After asking Neuberger how she could become more involved with the dinners, she took up the role of organizing "Breakfast on Us". The program was implemented by Neuberger to provide those at the suppers with healthy breakfast foods. Midzik helps measure out and bag portions of cereal for people at the suppers to take home each week.

"There was something really rewarding about spending time with people in the community, and giving something back to the community that gives so much to me just by going to college here," she said.

She sees the suppers as a particularly important part of the community during the winter months, when heating costs place a substantial burden on low-income residents of Addison County.

"The price of gas has gone down somewhat, but it's still going to be a really expensive winter for a lot of people," she said.

On Nov. 21, a particularly chilly night, the church was packed. A steady stream of volunteers rushed to refill the lemonades and coffees of each of the 12 tables set up with checkerboard tablecloths and Thanksgiving centerpieces. Volunteers from Waybury Inn churned out an effective assembly line of turkey dinners with mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin cake.

Over the course of the evening, Neuberger was bombarded with questions from rushed volunteers, as is usual on nights when the church is packed - where are the straws? Should we start serving dessert? - but by now, she's used to the fast-paced environment of serving dinner to a large number of people. She's focused on calling on the community - and the College - to increase their involvement with the suppers, keeping the economy in mind.

"So far, the Admissions Office, ISO, and Atwater, Ross and Wonnacott Commons have sponsored meals," she said. "It would be great if every Commons put on a meal."

Chase said that those who come to the suppers often volunteer to help with preparation, adding to the community built each Friday night.

"We've found it's a great team-building thing, and [volunteers are] getting to know people in the community they wouldn't normally know and vice versa," she said. "It's great being able to walk down the street and say hi and carry on a short conversation with someone you met at the supper. It doesn't help the person financially, but it makes both people feel better."

Although Neuberger expects resources to be tight in the coming months and years, she said she has a positive outlook on the program's future. She said the program plans to branch out during the winter by providing lunches to kids over winter break.

"No matter how tight [resources] are, we're going to do this," she said. "If everybody who's ever been here came [at once], we'd be totally overwhelmed. But I don't believe we're not going to be able to do this, even if we're serving spaghetti every Friday."