Hawai‘i church’s community meals feed 700 people weekly on the Big Island

[Episcopal News Service] Since St. James’ Episcopal Church in Waimea, Hawai‘i, began its Community Meals Ministry in December 2016, over 700 people from the Big Island gather late on Thursday afternoons for a free dinner, live entertainment and fellowship.

The congregation and the volunteers take very seriously the ministry’s slogan, “Building community one meal at a time,” the Rev. David Stout, rector of St. James’, told Episcopal News Service.

“Our ministry is to feed body and soul and to build community. …The lively atmosphere makes you feel like you’re not lonely, even if you’re sitting alone,” he said. “It takes away from that sometimes awkwardness that can come when you’re sitting in a restaurant by yourself.”

Every week, volunteers collect donated food from local farmers, bakeries, ranchers and the Costco in Kailua Kona. The members-only bulk warehouse is the ministry’s biggest donor, giving away hundreds of pounds of fresh meat weekly. The volunteers plan the week’s menu based on what’s been donated. Food collection and prep work begin Monday and continue through Thursday, until it’s time for the 4:20-6 p.m. meal.

Volunteer duties range from collecting food donations to vegetable washing and chopping, to packing cookies and more. All the meal preparation and cooking are done from St. James’ kitchen. Some volunteers also box up and deliver individual meals to those who can’t make it to St. James’.

The menu always consists of a vegetarian soup, salad, bread, a protein and a cookie. Mealtime also includes live music and dancing, including performances from a local hālau hula, a school that teaches the Native Hawaiian dance form.

“It’s pretty much a celebration here every week, nothing like the tone of a typical soup kitchen,” Stout said.

The meals aren’t intended as proselytization tools, though they always start with prayer. Stout and the Rev. Linda Lundgren, rector of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Pa‘auilo, 20 miles east of Waimea, always wear their collars during the meals and are available for pastoral assistance.

Tim Bostock, co-chair of the Community Meals Ministry, told ENS that the party-like atmosphere is intended to help people feel comfortable receiving a free meal.

“We very much want there to be no ‘hila hila,’ [meaning] no shame in coming,” Bostock said. “In fact, come over even if you’re not in need of free food. Everyone’s welcome to eat and enjoy the good company we have.”

The program runs all year except on Thanksgiving, when the community meals are served at lunch. The meal was canceled once during a hurricane, and it paused for one week in 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions went into effect but then temporarily pivoted to a drive-thru format until social distancing restrictions were lifted. Altogether, the ministry has taken about seven weeks off since it launched nearly nine years ago, according to Bostock.

“I think this is the biggest regular free volunteer event in Waimea, maybe even on this island,” Bostock said.

Bostock is also chair of the Gathering Place building project, an initiative to enclose St. James’ outdoor pavilion for future community meals and other ministries. That way, everyone can comfortably enjoy their meals and live entertainment in a climate-controlled environment. The congregation is working to raise $5.5 million in grants and individual donations this year with a goal to begin the project in 2026.

Bostock said it costs St. James’ $200,000 a year to operate the Community Meals Ministry. Most of that money comes from grants, donations and proceeds from St. James’ volunteer-run thrift shop, which sells gently-used clothes and accessories six days a week.

The successful blueprint Community Meals Ministry at St. James’ is now being replicated at its sister parish, St. Columba’s. There, free meals are served for the community every second Tuesday of the month.

“This is the kind of work that God – Jesus – wants. He wants kindness; he wants love,” Allison Rohfeld, a parishioner and community meal ministry volunteer at St. Columba’s, told ENS. She also has previously volunteered at St. James’. “Nobody goes home hungry when they leave our church.”

Nearly a third of households across Hawaii‘i’s seven main occupied islands are food insecure. That rate is higher on the Big Island – with a population of about 201,513 people – at 40%.

Bostock said St. James’ is in talks with the University of Hawai‘i’s culinary extension program to eventually offer free courses in how to cook on a budget and how to preserve foods using different preservation techniques, as well as food safety and handling. The courses would be offered at The Gathering Place once it’s built.

“It’s a lot of work, but this ministry is very much needed for many locals,” Bostock said.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.