Last summer, during the water main crisis, a group of teenagers from The Salvation Army summer program was driving around handing out bottled water with ministry director Lori Thurman. As they approached the various people in the selected locations, the teens kept hearing “Do you have any food?” This prompted Brandon Trogden, one of the helpers, to ask Thurman why they couldn’t hand out food also.
“So Mrs. Thurman started asking around to see what we could do,” Trogden said.
Papa John’s and 54 Pizza Express were the first to answer the call and the next time the teens were out, they were handing out pizzas as well.
Serving as the CANteen ministry director and the summer day camp director, Thurman and her group of 10-20 teens, provide food each Wednesday out of The Salvation Army Van. Visiting the parks, the Cadillac and Colonel House Motels and driving down Dixiana Court where “many refugees live,” Thurman said the residents know to expect them.
“We normally feed 150-200 on Wednesdays in the summer,” Thurman said. “There are a lot of kids not getting lunch [in the summer].”
Each Wednesday, the teens arrive at The Salvation Army a couple of hours before they head out and prepare the meals to hand out. Over holiday breaks, Thurman said she is able to cook hot meals for delivery, such as spaghetti and macaroni and cheese, but during the school year, that is difficult because of the preparation time to make that many meals.
“We would love to have community partnerships to offer hot meals two times a month,” Thurman said. “Over the breaks, we spoil them.”
Brie Greer, a summer camp counselor at The Salvation Army, said that she enjoys watching the teens and kids become involved in the service each week.
“They faithfully do it,” Greer said. “They know where people are [on their routine routes], and it is eye-opening for these kids to serve.”
Greer said that many in the CANteen program are from different walks of life and, prior to the service program, they did not realize the needs of their community. She also said that she can tell that their service stays with them after they leave the building. Conversations during assembly often include how teens talked to their families about what they have seen, prices on products they noticed when shopping with their parents or items they have picked up to donate.
The meals that are handed out are created using items from the Tri-State Food Bank and donated items to The Salvation Army. Last week they were able to hand out large bags of dry cereal so the families had that for the week, along with the meals.
On Wednesday, teens were in an assembly-line set up making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They also had sandwiches made with deli meat to offer on their routes.
“Today we have enough to feed over 200, and we have bananas and grapes that were donated by Sams,” Thurman said. “Anytime we can get fresh produce to them, it’s a win.”
Other children involved in The Salvation Army’s summer day camp also do service on Wednesdays. One group at their building was creating bags of products for the homeless and one group was out serving the community.
“Wednesdays are our day to do something for someone else,” Thurman said. “This is [the campers] favorite day, too.”
To donate to the CANteen program or to learn about becoming involved, contact The Salvation Army.
