Breaded pork, scalloped potatoes and vegetables are on the menu this night at the Open Arms Cafe. Photo by Dennis Chippa.
On any given Wednesday, the basement of St. John the Divine Church on Main Street is a beehive of activity.
That’s’ because every Wednesday, for the past two years, Peggy Morrison and her group of volunteers have prepared a healthy meal for whomever comes calling.
It’s called the Open Arms Café.
The idea was originally designed in the winter of 2013, as an outreach project called Out of the Cold.
Morrison says it did start small.
“We had a regular crew of about 20 people. The need for socialization kind of became really evident. Then as the weather warmed up, because there was such a need for socialization I didn’t want to close Out of the Cold. “
“Not very long after that a chef in the city who wanted to give back some of his time and talent, someone connected him with me. That was the first of May and the first of June we opened up the Open Arms Café.”
It was one of Peggy’s regulars that came up with the name, saying there are few places in town that open their doors with open arms.
The Open Arms now has grown to an operation that serves over a hundred people every Wednesday night, sometimes as many as 130.
The goal is a hot healthy meal for whomever comes in.
Morrison starts the planning well in advance.
“I sit down with the chef and we try to plan out our menus for the month. There’s lots of flexibility depending on what the specials are in relation to the menu. I check the flyers look for the best deals, do the grocery shopping that’s needed to prepare for that meal. Wednesday I usually pick up a few people and we start the morning by nine. There’s usually three or four of us all day long doing the meal prep. In the afternoon some other people come in to help with the set up, then as the day progresses around 5 o’clock others come in for the serving.”
The entire process is completely run by volunteers and donations.
“I have gone out to some of the grocery stores and other places to request donations, I’ve done very little of that. The Gathering Place has been fantastic at giving us fresh vegetables and things, anything they’re not using. There’s generous donations, money time, clothing all of it.”
The doors are open at 5:30, and usually two hours later, the serving is finished, clean-up is complete and visitors are gone.
The church is also the site of the North Bay Warming Centre, so on cold winter Wednesdays, visitors don’t have to leave right away.
Morrison says that has given her the idea to possibly expand the hours for the Open Arms, to allow for guests to stay later and socialize, if they want.
For now, she’s content to just continue to greet North Bay’s vulnerable, with Open Arms.
