Helping those in need: The Table sends kids home with weekend meals for families

MONROE — The Table is expanding.

Fourteen months ago, Libbie Hall learned that some Monroe Public Schools students only get the food that is provided at school. That inspired Hall, who runs the local ministry Called to More, to expand her focus. Since February 2023, Hall's The Table has sent kids home with weekend meals, not just for the kids, but for everyone in their homes.

At first, Hall, Tilly Grace and several other volunteers were packing weekend food bags for nine Waterloo Elementary School families, or about 48 people, every week.

Previous Coverage: Monroe ministry seeks donations for summer food program

Today, The Table is serving 18 families, or 89 people, each week, and it’s hoping to expand even more.

“We were made aware that, contrary to what we believed, the other four elementary schools in MPS do not have food service programs helping their students in need with access to weekend food. (Recently), we officially added two of the four elementary schools to our program. We will likely add (the other two school) as soon as possible,” Grace said. “We also have been in contact with someone from the administration office, and she is looking into the need for this service at the middle and high schools.”

Every Thursday, for each person in the house, the volunteers pack two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and three snacks. Larger food bags also are sent home for holidays and school breaks. Although it costs about $400 on non-holiday weeks to fill the bags, The Table hasn’t missed a week.

“We have not missed any weeks since we began in February of 2023,” said Grace, who serves as the ministry’s board secretary. “We have prayed diligently that God would provide what we need every week, and He has been faithful to do so, even when we are adding more families.”

The Table packs the bags at the Monroe City Church at the Mall of Monroe. Families are chosen by the schools; The Table doesn’t know their identities.

“We run on general numbers; for example, Family #1 has six people in it,” Grace said.

Much of the food is bought at a discount from the Monroe County Opportunity Program. The rest comes from grocery stores or is donated.

“We have partnered with MCOP to help get food cheaper to help the funds go further for these families,” Grace said. “Our response from the community has been positive. We’ve had people in the grocery store question why we were buying so much food, and when they’ve learned why, they’re outraged at the idea that there are children right down the street who do not eat. We’ve had community members donate to our organization after learning about these children in need.”

In November, The Table got a grant from the City of Monroe.

“It totaled $4,250, which has entirely been allocated to purchasing the food that goes to families being served by The Table. We picked up the grant check Dec. 8, and after a little over 15 weeks of weekend food bags, along with food for the entire Christmas break and spring break, we are now down to the last few hundred dollars of that grant. We still have several weekends left of the school year, including a long weekend for Memorial Day,” Grace said.

Grace said The Table will again continue offering food all summer. Last summer, the ministry provided meals, but families had to pick them up at Meadowbrook Estates.

“We served a few families from Waterloo every week. There were some families that dropped out of the program when the parents were required to meet at the Meadowbrook Estates Clubhouse for food pickup. We sent food for the entire household, for the entire week, to the families we were able to connect with," Grace said. "This summer we are hoping to connect the schools with Sodexo, a summer food program, but have not yet confirmed those details."

The food is appreciated by the families.

“Over the summer a mom shared with me that when there was a week the children were sick and didn’t get the bag because they weren’t as school, they felt the absence of that extra food,” Grace said.

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The Table and Called to More hope to add more outreach programs in the future.

“We have a couple of other outreach programs in the very early stages of development which will impact the homeless community at the high school, as well as addressing the need to help underprivileged women in our community,” Grace said.

Help The Table

Non-perishable foods are needed, including shells and cheese boxes that don’t require milk or butter, spaghetti and macaroni noodles, Hamburger Helper, microwave popcorn, graham crackers, Goldfish crackers, Cheez-It, instant oatmeal packets, ramen, fruit cereal bars, fruit snacks, rice packets, chili seasoning packets, boxes of Spanish rice, animal crackers, large jars of peanut butter and jelly, canned fruit, canned chicken and seafood and large containers of pancake mix, quick oats and applesauce.

“This isn’t the entirety of what we send, just some of the easier things to ask for donation-wise,” Tilly Grace from The Table said. For a complete list of needed food, visit tinyurl.com/d99wj3u8. Money also is accepted.

To learn how to volunteer, visit calledtomore.net or email tilly.ctm@gmail.com.

— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: The Table providing weekend food for 89 Monroe people