The 65 clients that filtered in and out made for a comparably slow day compared to holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, days where they have the fewest volunteers. In this Indian restaurant converted cafeteria, where daily menus are written on the wall and take away packages are available, there is usually a 60 person turnout (80% male, few females; and families).
As clients entered there was an easy flow of traffic as drinks were served at entry and plates of food were handed out by staff. In the back of house there is an industrial range with flat top, stainless steel pots and work stations and two washing stations similar to a Gurdwara setting. In every corner of the kitchen we found fresh vegetables given as food donations from local markets and farmers, bread and day old sweets from Costco and other vendors for clients to take at will. There was little room for food storage due to the fast turnover of product. Any personal donations are carefully screened and documented in a log for safety concerns.
Our day ended at 4:00pm after helping the Knight’s Table team clean and close up the for the night. This day left our volunteers feeling satisfied and inspired by the good work that is being done in the world and thankful that we were a part of it and had the opportunity to learn from the experience.
