By Jeff Gard/Northumberland 89.7
More than 100 grilled cheese sandwiches, to be served alongside tomato soup, caesar salad, chips and desserts items, should have been enough, but the line kept growing.
That led to a scramble to make more grilled cheese to ensure everyone was served during the high school lunch hour break.
Most Wednesdays during the school year, a dedicated group of volunteers from Grace Christian Reformed Church at the east end of Cobourg, prepare and serve lunch to high school students. No strings attached. The students show up, eat a good meal, share conversation with their friends and head back to school.
‘What’s 4 Lunch?’ was created in 2019 as three members of the church, while eating lunch, thought it would be great to offer a free student meal as a way to connect with the community.
“We had nine kids the very first time and it wasn’t even upstairs by the kitchen,” said Grace CRC youth director Emily Kapteyn. “We were downstairs and we had pizza. We just sat in our youth room.”
They had a goal to grow to 50 students by Christmas of that year and came close. Then COVID shutdowns and restrictions impacted the program until spring of last year.
Since its return, the program has grown. Youth members of the church helped spread the word and Kapteyn created an Instagram page (@graceyouth440). A sign out front of the church at 440 King East also promotes the program.
“Now we get anywhere between 85 to 100,” Kapteyn said. “We’ve had over 100.”
That was the case this past Wednesday in the church’s fellowship hall when the students arrived in cars and by foot to get that week’s meal. The majority of students head there from nearby Cobourg Collegiate Institute, though some students come from St. Mary Catholic Secondary School if they can make it as the meal is open to all high school students.
“I like the community. We get a lot of people from different grades and we have a couple people from St. Mary’s come down,” said student Cole Snoek. “Everyone has a nice chat with everyone else and it’s good food.”
Snoek is partial to the chicken wraps, but loves all the offerings which in recent weeks have included ham and cheese sliders, spaghetti and meatballs, a hot dog bar, tacos and a pancake breakfast.
“It’s a good spread, for sure,” he remarked. “I know of some people, whether they can’t make a lunch in the morning or they don’t have any time, you can come down here and get a good meal. I think that’s appreciated by a lot (of students).”
Twin sisters, Norma and Sabrina Bowers, agree that it’s a great opportunity for socialization and some students really benefit from an added meal as well.
“Not every kid has enough stuff at home to make a lunch so this program really helps them out,” Norma said. “My favourite part about the lunch is that for the kids that don’t have it they can come and they don’t have to worry about not having a lunch because there’s food here meant for them to come and take and enjoy.”
Sabrina added, “they can socialize with their friends…hang out, talk, eat good food and all that stuff.”
Kapteyn said it’s great to see students enjoying the food and the company. Some even make menu requests. One favourite was lasagna when the crowd was smaller, but that’s more challenging to have on the menu for a larger turnout. They offer vegetarian options as much as possible as well.
Recipes that can be made in large batches work best as the dedicated volunteers prepare the meals. Food prep and set up begins around 9:30 a.m. with cleanup finished by 1 p.m.
“We’ve had a really solid core of volunteers from our church and they’ve been amazing,” Kapteyn said. “Every week they’re here - they’re hardworkers. It’s a great team and atmosphere. It’s really fun to see the high school students and to interact with them.”
There’s no religious component to the Wednesday lunch.
“I think it’s important to show them we’re just regular people at a church and it’s not scary,” Kapteyn said. “You are welcome here. There’s no strings attached, just come and eat, let us serve you and remind you that you’re important to our community.”
While Kapteyn wouldn’t know which students or how many, if any, struggle to get good meals at home, she does know times can be tough for families, especially coming out of COVID and the cost of groceries now.
New this year for the weekly lunch is a partnership with Northumberland Fare Share Food Bank.
“Each week I let them know what we’re looking for and if they have an abundance then they send a few things over to us and then if we have leftovers then we send stuff back,” Kapteyn said, noting financial donations especially in the form of gift cards would be welcomed if anyone was wishing to contribute.
In terms of the partnership, Kapteyn said any leftovers are individually packaged and sent back to the Food Bank to be dispersed to those who could use a meal.
It’s challenging to know how much food to prepare without knowing how many students are coming.
“That’s probably one of the trickiest things. I’m always each week ‘please let there be enough food so that everybody can at least get through once and then if there’s extra come back for seconds,” Kapteyn said. “When we have over a hundred, it’s very crowded in there and hard to find seating. I would love to see it continue to grow. We just have to work through the logistics.”
As for this Wednesday, subs are on the menu.
