The Loonie Lunch is about much more than a meal.
Some of the people who attend the weekly offering at St. James’ Anglican Church are hungering for socialization. Some have never had much of a social life. Others are looking to get theirs back.
“I lost my husband, and my kids don’t come to see me anymore,” an elderly woman said through tears during Wednesday’s Loonie Lunch. “This is like family. You get over your loneliness.”
The woman, who didn’t want her name used, has four kids. She’s been missing their company since her husband died.
“I have a lot of junk in my place,” she said. “I don’t need junk. I need people.”
Rodney Dobson, whose wife died nine years ago, also enjoys the chance to mingle at the lunch as often as he can.
“It’s important because I like to talk to my friends,” he said.
It also helps that it’s “convenient, cheap and the food is always good.”
All of those reasons for attending make sense to Helen Perry.
“The purpose is twofold,” said the St. James’ volunteer. “It’s to provide a hot, nutritious meal to people who are hungry. More important, it’s a safe place for people to come to socialize.”
“For some,” Perry continued, “this is their weekly outing.”
The volunteers recognize that, and they take their work to heart. About 15 of them show up every week to prepare and serve the food and clean up.
There is also plenty of behind-the-scenes generosity. Mariposa Market gives a lot of its product that would have been thrown away to the church for the Loonie Lunch. The Orillia Bakery and Deli provides eight loaves of bread every week.
It’s in that spirit that the volunteers, too, choose to offer their time.
“It’s what we, as a church, do,” Perry said. “This is our Christian mandate. We’re here to serve the community.”
It doesn’t end when the last bowl of soup is filled. James’ Place is the church’s emergency assistance program, helping people after the Loonie Lunch, from 1 to 3 p.m. About five volunteers are on hand to help out in a variety of ways, from providing vouchers for food and laundry to referring people to other services in the community, including other churches with which St. James’ partners.
“That’s important,” Perry said. “We’re a social safety net for people who have fallen through the social service cracks of government.”
St. James’ tries to address that during its Loonie Lunch. Nurses from Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital are there a few times a year to do blood-pressure testing, and other social services representatives drop in as well.
Find out more about the Loonie Lunch here, and James’ Place here.
Whodunit?
St. James’ Anglican Church will host a murder-mystery fundraiser, presented by Ken Atkinson, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. The event will include a silent auction, cash bar and finger food. Tickets cost $30 in advance, $40 at the door. All proceeds will go toward the church’s outreach programs. For more information, visit stjamesorillia.com, email [email protected] or call 705-325-2742.
