MEALS WITH FRIENDS; MONTHLY MENUS SERVE FOOD, FELLOWSHIP

At left, Karen Biggerstaff, Ila Niswonger, and Frances Patterson, divide desert portions in the Salvation Army kitchen to be served a one of the meals last week. Above, Sandra Trapp prepares more green beans for a meal

Tales of grandchildren and discussions of current events seasoned the chicken-and-rice casserole served at the Salvation Army Wednesday.

The dinner was one of a week's worth of evening meals served through the Salvation Army's Meals with Friends program.

Capt. Elmer Trapp, who heads the Salvation Army here, said: "We provide people with a good, nutritious meal. It's a community meal which is open to the public.

"We always have Meals with Friends on the last full week of the month," Trapp said. "That's when people start running short of money and food.

"But the program has another purpose: It provides a night out, a chance to meet with friends," he said.

Trapp said no questions are asked and no requirements must be met to participate in Meals with Friends.

"Who are we to judge whether a person needs help or not?" Trapp said. "Maybe they don't need help financially, but they could be coming here because they are feeling down in the dumps. A little socializing might make them feel a lot better."

The meal is prepared and served by volunteers. Trapp said, "Some are members of our church; others are just volunteers who come in and help out.

"We have four or five people who are here every night each time we have meals," Trapp said. "And we usually have several other volunteers who show up to help on each of the nights."

One of the regulars, Murl Cutright, a soft-spoken, older woman, is called "Aunt Murl" by many in the Army kitchen.

"I'm here just because I want to be," she said. "I like working with people, and this is a way to pass the time.

"I've talked with people here who didn't have anything at home to eat," Cutright said as she stirred iced tea. "I pitch in and do whatever is needed."

Ila Niswonger, another senior volunteer, said: "I just enjoy it. I come down here every month.

"I'm too old to get a job otherwise," she said with a smile. "So I come here and volunteer. This is a good way to meet a lot of people. And you meet a lot of different people. We have a lot of fun, and it's a good experience helping someone else."

Frances Patterson is a Salvation Army regular. She participates in almost every program the Army sponsors, including Meals with Friends.

"Just like my bell-ringing, I like it," she said. "It gets me out of the house, and this is a wonderful program."

She said on Meals with Friends week,she doesn't have to cook an evening meal. She eats with her friends at the Salvation Army.

"This week I'm passing out desserts," she said. "But I do a little of everything."

Trapp's wife, Sandra, who plans the meals and makes sure food is prepared, said: "Usually we serve about 100 to 125 people a night. This week (in January) we have been a little slow. Maybe it's the cold weather."

Wilma Kiger kept track of those eating meals. "They need somebody and I can help them," Kiger said. "I think a lot of people really need this meal; people on fixed incomes especially need it.

"But it doesn't matter who you are," she said. "We have had transients stop in and eat, and we have people who come in to eat and visit."

Doretta Dunning started going to the center to eat but now she volunteers whenever her help is needed. "I think it's nice," she said, as she passed out Kool Aid. "It's a way to meet people and for people to get together and talk. It's just real nice."

Paul Messmer, who was spooning chicken-and-rice casserole onto plates, said: "I got started because they wanted someone to help. I said I could. It makes me feel good to do a good deed. I'm glad to help.

"I think it's a fine thing to do, provide this meal. A lot of people this week have no money.

"It's great," he said. "But we need more people to come."

As people walked through the serving line many talked with volunteers like old friends, discussing grandchildren and current events.

Although people eating dinner emphasized that you don't have to be poor to attend, they didn't want to be identified for fear their friends would think they couldn't afford meals.

One woman eating dinner said: "I was here (in Cape) for several months by myself. Capt. Trapp said: `You don't have to eat by yourself; come on down to Meals With Friends.'

"When you work all day and come home to an empty house, it can be pretty lonely," she said.

"Here I have someone to talk to and we all say, `See you tomorrow,'" she said.

"One of the ladies who comes here all the time was sick. We all worried about her. But she's better now."

In fact, that woman attended dinner last week.

Another woman, a senior citizen, said: "I come to see the other people. It gets me out of the house and gives me somewhere to go.

"Plus," she said, "I think it's real nice for those people with low income."

An older man spent most of his time between bites telling jokes. "I'm a go-getter," he said. "My girlfriend goes to work and I go get her."

"I live by myself and it gets lonesome at home, ya' know. I come down here to liven up the place.

"You know those people who are so busy they can't take a vacation? I'm taking it for them."

Meals with Friends was started in 1982.

Capt. Trapp said: "It had been discontinued for a while when we got here. But in July 1988, we started it up again. It's been going strong ever since.

"There is a need in our community," Trapp said. "A needy person today is not the same person as 10 or 15 years ago. Then we pictured a `down-'n'-outer,' someone who didn't care. Now we have people who are working or who have an income but have trouble making ends meet.

"This week of hot meals eases their burden."