The Monday Meal free supper, hosted on a revolving basis by four churches in Windham and Standish, could be on its last legs unless organizers receive more community support.

The weekly meal, which has existed since 1999, provides dinners year-round to primarily low-income Lakes Region seniors every Monday at 5:30 p.m. But Food & Fellowship Inc., which has run the program since 2002 and relies on municipal, state and private funding, is increasingly struggling to hang on due to insufficient financial support and those willing to volunteer their time to cook and host the dinners.

One aspect of the Monday Meal that is not struggling is demand for the suppers, which organizers say is increasing in recent years.

“How long can we keep this going for the community?” asked Janie Brown, the president of the group’s board. “We just hate the thought of this petering out because we just don’t have the help to keep it going like it should be kept going. There’s such a need out in this area.”

The Monday Meal, which began as a monthly event, hosts between 30 and 40 people in the cold months, and 50 to 70 in the warm months, according to Brown, with attendance generally increasing in recent years. The event is alternately held at the North Windham Union Church, the Windham Hill United Church of Christ, the Standish Congregational Church, and St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Windham.

According to Terri Moore, the group’s secretary, the group relies heavily on other organizations to purchase and cook the meal. Increasingly, it has been difficult to find organizations that are willing to take on these responsibilities, Moore said.

“This program is successful due to the volunteers who provide and prepare a hot meal to serve each Monday and the gift of space from the churches in which to host these free meals,” Moore said. “Many local churches and service groups participate by signing up for a Monday or two a year and take on the task of staffing, cooking, serving and clearing up after each meal. Frequently, there is no group on the calendar to serve and the Food & Fellowship board purchases food to prepare and serve for that evening. This creates a shrinking budget due to a shrinking pool of available volunteers.”

According to organizers, the organization is seeking groups that will host one or more meals a year at one of the four churches, as well as financial donations and administrative volunteers. The program typically receives help from 12 different groups each year, according to Brown. But this year there have been 12 open slots in which no groups have volunteered to host the Monday Meal, she said.

“We’re looking for people who are willing to volunteer,” Brown said. “We are looking for groups who might be able to do a meal, which would include providing the food, cooking the meal and serving it, or if groups don’t feel that they could do that, even if they wanted to make a donation to help us, so that we could provide the stuff.”

According to Brown, who has volunteered for the program since 2000, the supper typically attracts seniors from Windham, Standish, Gorham, Raymond and occasionally from Naples, Casco and Westbrook.

The doors open for the Monday Meal at 4 p.m. every week in order to provide time for socializing. This Monday, several diners at the North Windham Union Church said they primarily attend the Monday Meal for the social benefits, although many others attend primarily for the free food.

“We follow the meals because we have a lot of friends that go,” said Lucien Arsenault of Standish. “A lot of people need meals. A lot of people are having a hard time getting by and I think this helps them. I think it’s a real good thing for people to get a free meal now and then because things are tough for a lot of people.”

Carl Pike of Gorham, who has been attending the meal for more than a decade, said he would be disappointed if the meal discontinued.

“They put on good meals,” he said.

To Brown, the future of the meal is uncertain.

“In past years it hasn’t been quite this bad,” Brown said. “Marsha [York] and I have been working with this group since almost its inception. It’s discouraging and to some degree tiring. It’s really discouraging.

“We’re getting older,” she said.

Lucien Arsenault of Standish and Carl Pike of Gorham, left, and Cookie Arsenault of Standish, right, enjoy the free Monday Meal at the North Windham Union Church. The Monday Meal is the only free weekly supper available in the Lakes Region. Staff photo by Ezra SilkDiners enjoy a free meal and conversation at the North Windham Union Church on Monday. The Monday Meal, which began as a monthly event in 1999, hosts between 30 and 40 people in the cold months, and 50 to 70 in the warm months, with attendance generally increasing in recent years.Staff photo by Ezra Silk

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