ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Christ’s Table is a nonprofit in Zanesville that offers free, hot meals to those in need. They pride themselves on being an available and accessible resource in the community, open Saturday through Monday and every other Sunday.
And if someone can’t come get a meal, such as in the event of a snowstorm which slammed the state Sunday night into Monday, volunteers help prepare the community.
“I always say put it into perspective of what you can do and what you can’t and that’s why it’s so important for us to be here,” said Keely Warden, the executive director for Christ’s Table.
For snowstorms, homebound clients receive blizzard bags. The bags are distributed at the beginning of the winter season and are to be used in case volunteer delivery drivers aren’t able to drop off a hot meal. The bags are filled with canned goods and easy-to-make hearty meals that have a long shelf life.
“They’re supposed to put them on the shelf, leave them there until that day arrives when we can’t get to you, then you have plenty of food for that day and the next two days,” said Warden.
Usually, each route takes between one to two hours. All of the delivery drivers are volunteers. Tom Croyle has been a volunteer delivery driver for about two years. He originally started as a way to become more integrated in the Zanesville community and to stay active during retirement.
Since the pandemic, it’s been harder and harder to gather. His route allows him to check on community members who may not see anyone else that day and allows him to gain various perspectives on life.
“Especially these days when you have the pandemic going on, there’s a lack of connection so that’s good for them and that’s good for me,” said Croyle.
Zanesville received several inches of snow between Sunday evening and Monday afternoon. While Christ’s Table was open for in-person meals, they didn’t want to put their delivery drivers at risk and asked their homebound clients to utilize their blizzard bags.
The nonprofit is already preparing to send out another round of blizzard bags once the weather clears up.
“We’re staged and we’re ready to put those next set of blizzard bags together because I’m sure we’ll be using them this week and get new ones out,” said Warden.
Almost all of the food for the hot meals and blizzard bags are donated. With the community’s help, Christ’s Table was able to distribute more than 94,000 meals last year, and each meal costs only $0.25. But Christ’s table isn’t just for food.
They have hats, gloves, hand warmers, socks and more for their on-foot customers to stop in and grab. Warden said the Zanesville community is the textbook definition of paying it forward.
“I can’t tell you how wonderful this community is,” said Warden. “We never want for anything. It’s just right here when we need it. It’s amazing.”
Christ’s Table is always looking for volunteers to help serve food. If you are interested in volunteering you can check out their website here.
