Community Celebration
Lunch with Neighbors program marks fifth anniversary
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ELKINS – The First United Methodist Church of Elkins celebrated the fifth anniversary of its Lunch with Neighbors program Tuesday afternoon in the church’s Family Life Center.
Those attending the event were treated to a spaghetti dinner that included salad, bread, drinks and ice cream cake. More than 30 area residents turned out for the celebration.
“We really feel blessed that we have been able to keep the program going for the past five years,” Lunch with Neighbors co-director Diana Johnson told The Inter-Mountain. “To celebrate we treated everyone to ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, which is very special, and we did our favorite meal for everybody, spaghetti.”
In 2022, the Lunch with Neighbors program first started providing meals to those in need. During its first year of operation, 9,933 lunches were served to the less fortunate.
The following year in 2023, the amount of residents taking part in the program almost doubled, with 17,933 lunches served. In 2024, Lunch with Neighbors provided meals to 22,020 visitors. Last year, 26,481 residents came out for lunch at the church. As of August this year, a total of 14,869 lunches had been served.
Until this year, the program offered lunch three days a week. It is currently offering the free meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Take-out dinners and delivery are available to those who are unable to leave their homes.
Johnson, who runs the program alongside her husband, Greg, said most of the funding for the free lunches now comes from local sources.
“We’re doing it through private grants more now than when we first started,” Johnson said. “We are lucky to live in an area where there are a lot of private grants available. Our church supports the program as well, and we get a lot of little private donations from all over town.”
The program, which typically serves close to 500 meals per week, is self-supporting and is staffed completely by volunteers. Johnson said there are close to 10 regular volunteers that keep the program going each and every week. That list includes Bill Pingley, Jim Bell, Jeff Menendez, Mike Fisher, Deborah Stout, Carolyn Gola, Carol Holt, Jane Wamsley, Dave Vandenburgh, Mary Richards and Joe Hughes.
Support for Lunch with Neighbors can be made via the First United Methodist Church. Gifts can be mailed to First United Methodist Church, 315 Kerens Ave., Elkins, WV 26241, or can be dropped at the church office during office hours (Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m - 1 p.m.). Gifts can also be made online at http://www.fumcelkinswv.org.
Bill Pingley serves up some spaghetti that was provided as part of the anniversary Lunch with Neighbors meal.