The Ham Loaf Is Plenty. The Workers Are Few.

September 2, 2026 · 1 min read

Eleven minutes before the start of lunch service at Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall, a woman inside the screened-in cafeteria orders a girl to make sure all six tables get a final scrubbing. “Get off your phone,” the woman says. “We are a church, so hospitality is top of the line for us.” A few Read more...

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Alexander Miller

We used to run a similar free lunch program at our parish hall back in the early 2000s and hit the same wall—plenty of ham loaf, not enough hands. That line about scrubbing tables right before service hit home; I remember my wife doing the same thing with our kids when they were teens. How do they keep the volunteers coming back week after week in Salem?

Sarah Moore

Our little parish kitchen crew ran into the exact same thing with our soup-and-bread lunches a few years back. The ham loaf (or in our case, the lentil soup) was always plenty, but getting folks to stay and wipe tables or wash the big pots afterward was like pulling teeth. I ended up bribing my grandson with extra cookies just so he’d help sweep the crumbs.

Красимира Петрова

При нас в църквата във Варна правехме същото с яхнията след неделната литургия. Винаги имаше достатъчно храна, но след като хората се нахранят, повечето изчезваха, а ние с още две-три баби миехме тенджерите. Момичето с телефона ми напомни за моите момчета, когато бяха малки – все трябваше да им се караме да помогнат.

Constantin Tudor

In our parish in Chisinau, at the free meal after the Sunday service, it's the same: the soup is always enough, but when it comes to cleaning the tables and washing the dishes, there are three or four of us left. It reminded me of my three-year-old son who hides under the table just when he has to help with the napkins. Maybe we should put a clear list of tasks at the entrance, so people don't get lost after they eat.

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