Who we're thankful for: the volunteers at Third Tuesday Suppers

If diners at the Third Tuesday Suppers in Geneva say grace, I hope they are mentioning the volunteers who put on the meal.

The hardworking crew certainly deserves a “thank-you” for the free dinners it has been dishing up for more than two years.

Last week, a record 715 people showed up.

It's quite a production.

Ready, set ...

Beth Kucera, co-chairman, marshals the volunteers in the dining hall of the United Methodist Church of Geneva, 211 Hamilton St.

In a pre-dinner meeting, she ticks off what is on the menu (turkey), the policy on seconds, and special rules for the December meal.

“If and when we run out of turkey we have pasta ready to drop tonight,” she said.

The team never wants to run out of food.

“Let's make sure the people who come in at 7 p.m. get the same good-looking meal” as those who arrive earlier, she said.

Kucera also stresses the spiritual aspect, during a quick prayer: “Be careful. Listen to our friends,” she says.

Over in the kitchen, co-chairman Gayle Taylor is cleaning up a turkey-broth spill on the floor, hustling buns in and out of an oven, and directing servers where to go to pick up the hot pans of food.

“Every Third Tuesday I ask ‘Why am I doing this?,'” she says, constantly moving around the kitchen.

When the staff meeting was called, she's too busy.

“Somebody go pray for me,” she tells the other kitchen workers.

And at 4:30, the diners, who have been lining up since 4, start to snake through the two service lines.

Chow time

“Hot dog 'til I need you. Hot dog 'til I need you,” Kucera tells a server who prefers to work the hot-dog station, instead of busing tables. (The main entree changes every month, but they always offer hot dogs and chips.)

Another volunteer, assuming she is to bus tables, is corrected with a laugh: “You are a hospitality greeter -- and THEN you bus the dishes,” Kucera tells Margaret Ogden.

Ogden likes to be near the parlor.

“A lot of the same people” sit there every month, she says.

Tables are set up in the fellowship hall, the parlor, and in the first-floor lobby and an office. Carryout is also available.

“You ladies have it in perfect order,” a guest tells the servers, as they bag up her “to-go.”

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Suzanne Popplewell is at the stove: “Do we need gravy? I've got a pot ready if you do,” she says.

In a quieter corner in the fellowship hall, Corinne Steinbis is overseeing the dessert table.

“I like to bake. I guess this is my table,” she says. “They (the diners) are going to go crazy tonight (for the pumpkin pies).”

Many of the volunteers are middle-aged or older. But there are a few kids around, like the two boys rinsing pots and pans. When one complains about the temperature of the water, the other chides him: “It's supposed to be hot. That's the point of cleaning it.”

And if there were any doubt, yes, the diners are grateful.

Connection on menu

Vicky and Maria Isely of Batavia, members of the church, have missed only one dinner since it started. They are seated with Keith Isaac.

Their favorite meal? Taco night, says Maria.

“I like Gayle's Chicken-and-Broccoli (casserole). But this is pretty good,” Vicky says.

Isaac is even more enthusiastic.

“Everything. Everything. I get two or three helpings. I love to eat,” he says with a big grin.

The dinners are for anybody — young or old, rich or poor, any religion. The church puts out information about upcoming services and activities on the tables, but does not overtly push its beliefs. It simply wants to offer hospitality.

“So many people are in financial situations or are alone,” Vicky Isely says. “It is a great opportunity to not eat alone and to be social.”

If you go

<b>What</b>: Third Tuesday Suppers, offering a free meal to anyone who walks in the door

<b>Time</b>: 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month; the next supper will be Tuesday, Dec. 20

<b>Where</b>: United Methodist Church of Geneva, 211 Hamilton St.

<b>Cost</b>: Free; donations are accepted

<b>Details</b>: <a href="http://www.thirdtuesdaysuppers.com">www.thirdtuesdaysuppers.com</a>; (630) 232-7120