Darlene Ingels hopes to be a line cook
in a fancy restaurant in downtown Fredericksburg someday. But during the lunch
rush this Tuesday, she’s making chicken salad sandwiches on croissants in the
kitchen of a Baptist church, also known as the Micah Community Cafe. She likes
that cooking keeps her busy, not to mention the compliments she gets on the
food. She also likes that when she finishes the café’s training program, she’ll
earn her ServSafe certification.
“It’s something useful for me because
down the road, once I get that food handling certificate, (I) can start making
more money than the average person,” she said. “Micah’s been helpful — they’re really a good group of people for the
people that need a helping hand.”
The café is the latest project of Micah
Ecumenical Ministries, a group of Christian churches, including St. Mary of the
Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, that banded
together to care for the local homeless population. The organization is
supported in part by the diocesan Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
They offer case management that helps
the homeless finds jobs, a place to stay and furniture.
The organization also hosts a cold
weather shelter in the winter and nightly free dinners year-round. Members of
all the churches volunteer to make the meals possible. “Everyone is invited to
come and eat. If you’re lonely, if you’ve fallen on hard times, no questions
asked, just come,” said Elena Doyle, executive assistant and outreach director
of St. Mary.
The Micah Community Cafe, which is open
for lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is a pay-what-you-can restaurant, said cafe
Manager Mike Morrison. There are suggested amounts for the soups, sandwiches,
drinks and sides, but you can pay more than that or nothing at all. Their doors
opened a year ago, and they now serve up to 200 clients a day, Morrison said. Randall
Brooks, a frequent diner, recommends the Reuben sandwich or the Gobbler, a
Thanksgiving-inspired hoagie.
Volunteers and those hoping to get food
prep experience keep the café running smoothly. “Anybody that wants can come be
in the (ServSafe) program but it’s mostly focused for our Micah clients, more
along the lines of the homeless community,” said Morrison. Several of the
program’s graduates have jobs in the food service industry, but they still stay
connected to Micah.
Darlene Ingels makes chicken salad sandwiches in the
kitchen. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD
“The guy back there, he was one of my
first students and he’s now like my sous chef. I can’t get rid of him. We’ve
gotten him jobs but he tells them, ‘I can’t work Tuesday and Thursdays because I’ve
got to be at the cafe,’ ” said Morrison. “One of the girls who works back there
works at Waffle House. She’s off today so she came back to help.”
Morrison has worked his whole life in
the food service industry, but he’s glad the food he makes here betters the
lives of the guests and his fellow cooks. “The churches that started up Micah,
I just think that’s the best,” he said. “A lot of people are trying to push
these (homeless) people away — get them
out of the streets, get them out of our faces. These churches are together and
embracing it, and I love that.”
If you go
The Micah Community Cafe, located at 1016 Caroline St.,
Fredericksburg, is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday. To find
out more, call 540/841-3263 or go to micahfredericksburg.org.