By Sarah Richardson
“We saw a need in the community, there are people in our region who needed a good, hot meal,” says Deacon Mark Gillespie of Ronceverte Presbyterian Church. The church has been hosting free community meals since February of this year on the fourth Saturday of each month. Anyone who wishes to come enjoy a hot, nutritious meal is welcome, as there are no stipulations or qualifications to be met in order to attend.
“We try to do a well-balanced, nutritional meal,” explained Gillespie. “There first time we had a community meal we just put it on our Facebook page, and we had around 110 people show up. That showed us just how obvious this need was, and we decided to keep it going as long as we can.”
Meals at the church have included ham and beans, shepherd’s pie, spaghetti, and chicken pot pie. Most recently, they closed the street beside the church and did a cookout with hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. For their June 24 meal, there were over 220 attendees.
During the meals, a basket is left out for donations, “which are sustaining us,” said Gillespie. “We recently had a generous donation of 300 pounds of ground beef, but we had nowhere to put it. Our Minister Stephen Baldwin posted that we were looking to purchase a freezer, and in 15 minutes a woman called and said that she would pay for whatever freezer the church picked out at Lowe’s, so long as she remained anonymous.”
Gillespie said that it’s a team effort to cook the food, and that their congregation does the serving. “We deliver, as well, to those that can’t go out,” he said. “We also do a lot of carryouts, because there is a lingering stigma of people maybe not wanting to eat at the church. But these meals are for everybody.”
However, it’s about more than just the food.
“It really is an outreach, and a way to help people,” Gillespie explained. He said that it’s important to provide a way to make connections to those in the community who might not have a good support system.
“It’s not just for Ronceverte, it’s for anyone who lives in our area. Everyone is welcome,” he said.
The church is currently accepting donations to help support the free community meals, which can be mailed to Ronceverte Presbyterian Church, Attn: Community Meals, 261 Locust Street, Ronceverte, WV, 24970.
The next meal will be held on July 22 at the church. Visit their Facebook page at Ronceverte Presbyterian Church, or call 304-647-4400 for more information.
