A group of volunteers from a number of Madison churches come together on a weekly basis to be a part of another fellowship, The River Food Pantry, located in a giant warehouse at 2201 Darwin Road. Every Friday evening The River volunteers serve a meal to anyone who comes. The River also provides groceries, clothing, household goods and furniture to needy families.
On Thursday evening, October 14th, many of these volunteers gathered at The River for a different purpose: to celebrate a half decade of outreach, enjoy a great meal, and share the experience with their friends and other community members at the River’s Harvest Dinner for the Hungry.
The River began serving families on Madison’s north side and the broader community five years ago. “We expected that eventually we might serve as many as 100 families,” said co-director Andy Czerkas. “We went past that level in the first couple of months.”
The River now serves about 500 families each week. During the first eight months of 2010 there were 1300 families who visited The River for the first time.
Serving a Needy Population
“We’re successful because there’s an incredible need out there right now,” Czerkas said. “One woman told me recently, ‘last year I made $100,000–this year I’m losing my house.’ We hear a lot of that.”
The Harvest Dinner featured a delicious feast prepared by chefs from two local restaurants, the Market Street Diner and Monty’s Blue Plate Diner. It also included appetizers, a bluegrass concert by the Krause Family Band, and a raffle.
Tables were set in the middle of the warehouse between shelves stocked with food. Conversation flowed freely as friends who hadn’t see each other in a long time got caught up on events. Everyone seemed to enjoy coming together for a good cause.
Getting Through the Down Times
The Dinner was planned as a fund-raising event to help boost The River through what is historically the most difficult time of the year, just before the major food drive and compassionate giving opportunities provided by the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. Each $20 ticket covered the cost of about $200 worth of food and clothing provided to needy families. The dinner was co-sponsored in part by Sertoma of Madison and Inkworks.
Although many of The River’s volunteers come from area churches, others come from the northside communities served by the food pantry. “The north side has a huge need for the assistance we provide here,” Czerkas said.
“We try to form a community of people who help each other. They’re not strangers, they’re people we care about.”
He added, “We have a few people on staff who get paid, but they don’t get paid a lot. They do it because they love it.”
All who attended the dinner, and anyone else who is interested, are invited to an Open House at the The River on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 5:30pm to 6:30pm.