Feeding 150 People Every Night Isn't Easy
Operation Nightwatch serves 150 hot meals every night of the year, which is more challenging than you might think. What started as one guy with a camping stove and a pot of soup has grown into a meal service that requires a person at the front desk, two people working the door and bussing tables, a person to manage the kitchen (me) and a rotating group of volunteers to cook and serve the food. And a volunteer coordinator to make sure things run smoothly.
I’m a relatively private person on the Internet but given the fact that you can find out where I live in three seconds by typing the name of this website into a search engine I’m ready to finally reveal where I work.
When I blog about Nightwatch I’m discreet and never show images of the faces of customers. These posts are not authorized by Nightwatch but they are OK with it. A great organization, by the way - with a fundraiser coming up on October 17. That’s a catered event that I won’t be cooking for.
Last night we served our chef’s special beefaroni. Our monthly donation from Farmstand came in so we were able to serve a salad with organic cucumbers in a sesame oil viniagrette, and we also had our usual offering of fruit, cookies and sandwiches. Tonight, thanks to Farmstand, we have organic green beans and salad greens to serve with our jojo potatoes and fish sticks.
It wasn’t all glamor and gourmet food last night, though. First responders had to show up and treat someone suffering from a seizure.
We’ve administered naloxone to people more than once. And we’re trained to de-escalate situations where people are causing problems.
—Alex
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