Breakfast is served. Again. Finally.
After three years of serving takeout-style as a result of the pandemic, First Presbyterian Church’s Saturday morning breakfast program has reverted to sit-down dining.
The program, which began 22 years ago, serves hot breakfast to about 180 people each Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Rev. Mike Maroney, First Presbyterian’s minister, said it is great to see the return to indoor eating.
“Folks can come in, sit down, have tea, coffee, juice…have a meal, and can go back for seconds if there is enough,” he said.
Maroney said the pandemic forced the switch to the takeout format, and then it lingered due to the fact volunteer numbers were slow to return after the pandemic.
“But now we have enough volunteers to reintroduce indoor eating,” he said, adding it’s better for their patrons as well. “We always felt the dignity of eating indoors is far greater than having to stand outdoors in line.”
The breakfast effort is still offering just the one menu –frittata and hash browns – but it fills the hunger gap.
Maroney said he tells patrons he wishes they could do more, but they are quite appreciative of the food.
“The patrons are very gracious and complimentary: ‘This changes our Saturday, so thank you,’” he said.
The menu will expand in the near future. Prior to the pandemic, volunteers had established a rotation of four different breakfast menus, switching it out weekly to give added variety.
Maroney said everything is being reintroduced slowly to make sure there are enough volunteers to ensure the breakfasts are done properly.
He added the breakfast team has phased out the takeout element with the return to in-house seating, but in the short term is still letting some people take food back to their families.
Maroney said he is proud of the volunteers who serve the breakfasts. Some have been doing it for more than two decades.
“We’ve pretty much served every Saturday for 22 years,” he said. “The food is good. It’s well made. Once we reintroduce all our menus, it’s just like going to a restaurant and eating for free. You give your guests the best you can give, and I’m thankful for that.
“From the very beginning we believed if we’re going to serve people, we are going to serve them well.”
Just purchasing the food for the weekly breakfast costs an estimated $23,000 annually, as prices have increased dramatically in recent years. But there is never any cost to the patrons, Maroney said.
There is a beneficiary fund of which the church uses the interest to purchase the food, he said, but additional fundraising is needed to address the growing costs.
