Tasty meal puts food on other tables, too

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: September 14, 2008

It’s a weekend morning and Terri Petrovits offers up a family meal while the Barracks Road Shopping Center fountain bubbles nearby.

There’s a catch, of course. The meal costs $10. On the other hand, you get to feed six to eight of your closest friends plus a neighbor.

“The soup mixes are made by Montebello Kitchens out in Gordonsville and the proceeds will help Meals on Wheels provide meals,” Ms. Petrovits says, as shoppers rush by looking for treasures. “It’s a great deal because not only does the money for the soup stay in our community, but it feeds people in our community.”

Ms. Petrovits is on the board of directors of the local Meals on Wheels. The organization takes a daily meal to those who cannot cook or cannot get out to eat for themselves. The meals are provided on a sliding scale according to income: Some people pay the full amount and some pay nothing.

The soupy sales, which took place Saturday, will go on again Sept. 27 on the Downtown Mall and at Barracks Road.

Proven recipes

The soups are recipes from Rebecca and Steven Lynch, who started making lunches to serve in their Gordonsville coffee shop. The soups have become especially popular, enough so that the Lynches started packaging them and selling them under the Olde Shenandoah brand. They also make and sell sauces, spices, dressings and peanuts.

Meals on Wheels has provided meals since it was founded in 1977 by Church Women United. Earlier this year the organization made a push for more volunteer drivers in hopes of easing the impact of gas prices, which rocketed in February and March.

On the table, there’s a little taste for everyone’s pallet, from vegetable bean to lentil sausage. The sale is not just about eating and money, however. It’s about finding help.

“We have to have one volunteer for every client we have to be able to deliver five meals a week,” explains Greg Govan, also on the board of directors. “We serve about 4,000 meals a month and we can always use volunteers and drivers.”

More than a delivery

There’s more to the deliveries than just providing a hot meal.

“The daily contact with another person is incredibly important. Some of our clients say that being able to talk with someone is more important than the food, sometimes,” he says. “It also provides a safety check for some people. That one-on-one contact can be rewarding for the clients and the volunteers.”

“That’s why we’re out here,” says Ms. Petrovits. “This is also about letting people know we’re out here and getting them interested. We want to let people know what we’re about. When they reach in the cupboard and pull out the soup, they’ll see our name on it and they’ll know they helped provide a meal for someone else.”