By: Kyle Smith, Marketing Intern
“Every day an older man drives up in his battered van to get lunch at Thelma’s Kitchen and he gives what he can: 5 cents in pennies, 27 cents, whatever it is. No matter the amount, he always gives with joy,” said Randi Hobbs, Program Manager for Thelma’s Kitchen.
A few days before the shelter at home order began in March, Thelma’s Kitchen closed to the public out of utmost precaution and began serving to-go lunches from the front door. The donate-what-you-can model has taken a back seat to providing for the extreme need in the community right now for access to healthy food. “We’re seeing a totally different crowd than normal,” said Randi, who took over the lead position at Thelma’s only weeks before the shutdown. “We have seen a marked increase in families and young people laid off from the service industry.”
Randi Hobbs, Program Manager at Thelma’s Kitchen, accepting donated food from the community
In April, Thelma’s gave away 5,729 meals, a 347% increase from January of this year. The cafe has always relied on donations -- of time and resources -- to serve the community, but the shift that has happened in the wake of the coronavirus has been dramatic. Randi said she is seeing such generosity in new ways, from neighbors helping keep paper goods stocked to restaurants and food service groups sharing produce, meat, and dairy items that they are not able to use.
Converting Thelma’s to purely carryout while maintaining health and safety precautions has been an evolving process for Randi and her team. “First we had to figure out the new logistics, then many of our volunteers had to drop out because they were in a high risk category, then our meal counts started to go way up… It’s a different challenge every week.” she said. “This has been the largest faith-building experience of my entire life, believing that we will continue to feed those we need to feed and keep supporting the other services at Reconciliation Services.”
Serving to-go meals hasn’t changed the importance of preparing delicious, healthy, and high quality meals to our community. However, Thelma’s Kitchen Chef, Artis Grigsby, has had to be flexible and creative in cooking with donated food items. Randi said guests are really digging his comfort food right now. “Artis makes a mean chicken wing and his mac and cheese is the best ever. Anything hearty is a hit,” she said. And, whatever Artis cooks up for Thelma’s at lunch he’s sure to hear about as he rides the bus through the neighborhood to and from Thelma’s each day.
Randi has also made considerable personal sacrifices to stay on her post at Thelma’s Kitchen. Her brother was recently diagnosed with cancer and lives with her elderly parents. She’s turned the day-to-day caretaking over to her son to keep her family safe as she comes in contact with hundreds of people daily at Thelma’s. “I know without a doubt that working at Thelma’s is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she said.
Randi Hobbs (center) with volunteers at Thelma’s Kitchen (pre-COVID-19)
Randi’s first career was in the oil and gas industry where she worked as the Credit Director for many years. She was laid off in August of 2017 and was unsure of what she was going to do next. She started working in real estate and started volunteering at Thelma’s Kitchen. “I just kept coming back to Thelma’s and doing whatever they needed me to do,” she said.
When the Program Manager position for Thelma’s Kitchen opened up, Randi stepped into this lead role. “I’m growing immensely right now,” shares Randi. “Everyone at Thelma’s, from the guests to the volunteers, is here to heal. We all have different challenges and things going on in our lives.”
Even in the midst of the city-wide shutdown, volunteers have helped keep the food preparation and distribution humming along. Volunteers like members of Glory Church, a soon-to-retire culinary arts teacher, a Reconciliation Services board member, and a man who was recently laid off, are all vital to keeping Thelma’s Kitchen running every day. “Thelma’s Kitchen is a place where anyone can be productive, provide for others, and get engaged,”
On a recent supply run to Restaurant Depot, Randi said she was reminded of how life-changing the work of Thelma’s Kitchen and Reconciliation Services has been for so many. “I was checking out and mentioned to the young lady working the register that I run Thelma’s Kitchen,” Randi said. “She immediately asked what she could do to help because she said that about a year ago she was homeless and Reconciliation Services helped her.”
In a March sermon at the Church of the Resurrection, Pastor Adam Hamilton highlighted how Thelma's Kitchen lets us all take part in a miracle.
Even while operations are altered and meals are to-go, Thelma’s Kitchen remains an important entry point for the essential social and mental health services offered at Reconciliation Services, including licensed trauma counseling, utilities assistance, and vouchers for medical supplies.
In the coming weeks, we will better understand what “the next normal” will look like for Thelma’s Kitchen, but one thing is certain Randi said, “Our neighbors and regular volunteers want us back desperately because this is a place of belonging for them.” She said she is hopeful and believes things will turn out okay. “God’s people have helped us get this far and I have faith that we can make it through this together.”
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Thelma’s Kitchen continues to serve our neighbors a free, to-go lunch each and every week day from 11 AM - 2 PM thanks to your generous support. Please consider making a donation now and check out our Amazon Wishlist for others ways to support our efforts to serve the most vulnerable in our community.