Students and members of the community met at Vermillion High School's gym, where we were placed into random groups. After listening to two "motivational" speakers, the group leaders revealed the service tasks to be completed during the day. Our group was asked to plan, cook, and serve a meal at the Welcome Table. This program is put on every Monday night at the Methodist church in town. This free meal is open to the community.
Most of the folks in the group were USD students, some of whom had volunteered at the Welcome Table before. So, they were familiar with the setup of the kitchen, meals served in the past, and how the evening generally would progress. We decided to take a pass on popular meals like spaghetti, soup, and chili. Instead, we chose to cook up pancakes, little smokies, applesauce, and fruit cups. Really, can one go wrong with breakfast for dinner?
After half of the group returned with supplies from the Hy-Vee, there was some downtime until the cooking had to begin. Okay, there was a lot of downtime, which frankly sucked considering I had traveled so far to help out. In the meantime, the group got to know one another, while the two precocious girls in the group posed for the photographer from the Plain Talk.
Activity finally ramped up around 4:30 p.m., when the first pancakes were placed on the griddles. Then, we had a quick orientation with the woman who runs the program, who assigned tasks. This was the one part of the evening when I had to bite my tongue. She gave a brief overview of the Welcome Table for those of us who had never volunteered there before. She said the program's mission was to serve a meal to those who would rather not eat alone. Because no one like to eat by themselves, right?
Oh, it's times like this I admire my self-restraint. What I wanted to say was, "Ummm... Some of us are single and eat alone most of the time. And get this. Some of us actually like to eat alone. At restaurants no less!" But no, I kept quiet. Just another person who thinks solitude equals sadness and loneliness. I'm glad I have enough sense to believe otherwise.
Anyway, I digress...
I was assigned to the little smokie station. I would start a plate, put three smokies on it, and pass it off to Kristen, a USD freshman and my partner for the evening, so she could add three pancakes. (Kids received two of each.) And man were we movin'! The folks behind us cooking up the pancakes could barely keep up.
The Welcome Table is setup like a restaurant as opposed to a buffet or soup line. Diners remain seated at their tables and place their orders. Volunteers then run to the kitchen window (where I was located) to grab the filled plates. I really liked this aspect of the program. Between 100 and 300 meals are served every Monday, and I can see why it's so popular. Although the dinner is open to anyone (of course, with the mission of serving those lonely souls with no friends), most of those who attended were either elderly or physically/mentally handicapped.
Kristen and I remained busy for a good hour and a half before we were relieved so we could eat. Surprisingly, neither of us was hungry. I wonder if that had anything to do with the fact we would sneak a smokie or a pancake between serving up the plates. We decided we couldn't with a clean conscience serve folks deformed pancakes. (If I ever became a cook at a restaurant serving food I liked, I'd end up weighing like 1,800 pounds.) But we managed to scarf down our dinner plates anyway. Actually, it was more like dessert, what with the whipped cream and chocolate chips on top. I felt a bit sick afterward, but it was well worth.
The crowd started to disperse around 7. That's when we started putting together to-go boxes while the others cleaned the dining room and the dishes. Since I had a long drive ahead of me, I left a bit earlier than the others at 7, heading to Wal-Mart to pickup a few items I can't find in Mission and some celery for LaCosta. And I managed to stop at the Dairy Queen in Yankton for a Blizzard. My stomach had settled down by that point. Even if it hadn't, I just can't pass up a Blizzard.
I made it home at about 20 after 11 and quickly went to bed. I did get up bright and early for work the next morning, not so hard considering the commute. All told, even with the slow start, the trip was definitely worthwhile. Besides the whole service aspect, meeting students from USD was great. Everyone had good things to say about the university, which strengthened my desire to attend post-VISTA. And the group was fun. I guess that was never in doubt, since we were all there for the same reason.
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