Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501130068
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The program serves an average 70 people a day - many more during holidays and summer months when youngsters are out of school - Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at the kitchen and dining facility at the Church of God in Christ on Russell Avenue. Mills plans to feed 100 people each day.
The start of the new university semester also means the program won't be so strapped for help, but Mills never turns away willing workers. The eight or nine kitchen workers and servers, which frequently include several Radford University students, are volunteers - already in short supply under the best of conditions and scarcer still when the university shuts down, said Mills, who considers her volunteers "special."
"I enjoy it, and I love the people who come there," said Mills, who's retired. She got involved in the almost three-year-old program as a volunteer and eventually inherited the program's day-to-day management, a paid position.
Although the name is similar to the Our Daily Bread meals program in Pulaski, which also benefits from Radford University surpluses and students, the two programs are not connected.
The Radford-Fairlawn Ministerial Association and a group of concerned citizens got the city's program rolling, and the association still considers Daily Bread part of its ministry.
"It's a fantastic program," said the Rev. Gina Rhea, a member of the association.
The "ecumenical venture" had a tough time finding an adequate facility, recalls the Rev. Tom Magri of St. Jude Catholic Church. Although a need had been identified, "we did not know for certain it would work," Magri said of the free meals program concept, which originated through the Justice and Peace Committee of his parish. "The community has been very generous."
Radford-Fairlawn Daily Bread gets no government money. Several local businesses regularly pitch in with food or donations. R&R Market donates fried chicken, Kroger donates bread and several churches include the program in their budgets and give "whatever they can afford," Mills explained. The meals program also gets money through the United Way and the Presbytery of the Peaks as well as from individuals and community organizations. From time to time, the program gets food from the local food bank and through the SHARE program.
To stretch supplies, Mills said, Daily Bread is always on the lookout for volume discounts. The program put items aside in three freezers, but "food moves through fast," Mills said. "It doesn't stay on the shelves very long."
Daily Bread especially needs canned vegetables and fruits on a regular basis, since there's not enough storage space to stockpile a large amount of such items. In rare flush times, the program stores items in a volunteer's basement and at Presbyterian Church of Radford.
Daily Bread's patrons include singles and families, "people who need a little companionship and like to share a meal with somebody," Mills said. For those lacking transportation, a bus makes pickups at several stops in Radford and Fairlawn.
"If they walk through that door, they have a need," Mills said. "We don't ask any questions."
No one goes away hungry either, and diners are welcome to second and thirds if they like, Mills said.
Interested volunteers can call 639-6019 or 639-0290.
by CNB