Uncle Food’s Diner, a Peace House project for more than 29 years with the Tuesday Community Meal, expanded its reach in March of 2020, with the beginning of the COVID shutdown. For more than 15 years, the United Methodist Church in Ashland has generously hosted the Tuesday Community Meal.
As COVID safety precautions threatened to close down the weekly dinner, the team at Uncle Food’s Diner took action. Led by our chef Maren Faye and Peace House staff, Uncle Food’s responded to the grassroots project by scaling up from one to four days a week, and began to offer individually packaged meals. Since last March, the church allowed The Diner to completely take over the facility with the expanded project.
Collaborating with Oregon Representative Pam Marsh, Uncle Food’s Diner, the Monday Meal Team, and the Jobs with Justice’s Peace Meal, agreed on five places and times to deliver packaged meals to smaller groups in open-air locations. Precautions in the kitchen and on deliveries include wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands frequently, and offering free protective sanitary equipment (PPE’s). This safe, collective effort made it possible for hungry, houseless, and low income families and individuals to get a free meal in Ashland seven days a week.
Now Uncle Food’s delivers more than 500 meals a week and employs five professional cooks, in addition to the team of dedicated volunteers who make it all possible. But feeding people is only one result of the work.
Behind the scenes, most of the food is gleaned or donated from local grocery stores – Market of Choice, the Ashland Food Bank, Shop’n Kart, the Ashland Coop, and Food Angels. This reclamation process reduces waste, since the food would otherwise spoil and be thrown away.
“The food comes full circle,” said Maren Faye. “We reclaim imperfect food, we create nutritious meals out of it, and we pass on what we cannot use to our local compost experts.”
Closing a gap in the food system and providing a safety net for people who need food is at the heart of Uncle Food’s’ compassionate mission. In addition to feeding people without housing, the meals also offer a free option for those who are going without food for a variety of reasons.
“We serve veterans, the elderly, low income and disadvantaged members of our community, and others who lack access to cooking facilities,” Maren continued.
The food that comes out of Uncle Food’s Diner is both nutritious and delicious. Varied culinary themes, inspired by the types of food available, skillfully dress up dishes into fun cuisine and accommodate special dietary needs and preferences. Those picking up meals can choose between vegan, chicken, or beef dishes. Often meal bags go beyond the main course and include a dessert, a boiled egg, a sandwich, yogurt and fruit. Uncle Food’s meals are also being delivered to all of the residents of the new shelter in Ashland run by Options for Helping Residents of Ashland (OHRA).
Uncle Food’s Diner would not be possible without the generous support of our funders, including the Ashland Food Bank, the City of Ashland, ACCESS, the Oregon Community Foundation, local faith communities and many individuals.
Under the effective and creative leadership of Maren Faye, the kitchen staff continue to innovate with available ingredients and get meals out to the community on time. The tight group of staff and volunteers who cook and package the food together has weathered the storm through COVID-times and become a “pod” that, incredibly, did not have a single positive coronavirus case.
