Dish room volunteers like Pam, Bill, and Kathy see an opportunity to serve where others only see a sticky and damp mess.
Serving over 700 people in just two hours each day is a feat that rivals even the greatest in the foodservice industry. Our Daily Bread rises to this challenge every day without a hitch, thanks to its team of dedicated volunteers.
There are so many essential roles. Volunteers who make the Our Daily Bread operation run smoothly include those who pick up donations from their local grocery stores, those who prepare the casseroles, and those who plate and serve the meals with a smile. But perhaps the most overlooked and soggiest duty of all is cleaning up after the biggest lunch service in Baltimore.
Without this devoted group of volunteers known as the “Dishwashers” there would be no clean plates to eat from or forks from which to eat. There certainly would not be cups to fill with sweet tea, either.
Volunteers like Pam, Bill, and Kathy bring light and joy to the dish room and see an opportunity to serve where others only see a sticky and damp mess. Their work certainly does not go unnoticed, “It’s amazing to see this group with such great attitudes dedicated to the work that many others choose to overlook. They truly want to make this process work, and in doing so bring humility and grace. Their work speaks for itself,” says Volunteer Coordinator, Aaron Kennedy.
Many of the dish room regulars arrive early to also help with preparations for the meal and are the last to remove their aprons as they see to it that every plate, fork, glass, pot and pan is clean, dry and put back in its place to be used again the next day. So, let us recognize the essential efforts of all our humble dishwashers; soggy aprons and all.
For more information about volunteering at Our Daily Bread, please contact Doris Franz-Poling at (443) 986-9031 or dfranzpl@cc-md.org.