Sat, May 20th 2017, Ezekiel Bates Lodge returned to the Hebron Food Pantry’s “Food and Friends” kitchen to serve lasagna again to the less fortunate of Attleboro. The night before, a small gathering of Brothers and one member’s wife assembled to prepare five large trays of lasagna which, when combined with the lasagnas prepared by other brother’s wives from home, would comprise the meal for Saturday. On Saturday E.B. members, their wives, girlfriends and a candidate arrived early to set up the kitchen, heat up the lasagnas, make take home sandwiches, and clean up at the end.
Often times we ask ourselves “What is the magic formula to make an event successful?” or “What must I say or do to attract just the right amount of volunteers to make my event go off without a hitch?’. I cannot tell you what the magic formula is, but I can tell you that for whatever the reason, we hit it just right for this event.
The execution of the food preparation the night before and running the kitchen the day of went off seamlessly. The fraternal feelings of cooperation and brotherly love ran high as we worked in a machine-like fashion to execute every step of the game plan, that we arrived at as a team, to get the food on the tables efficiently as possible.
As one that works in manufacturing, I appreciate when complex tasks can be performed between several people working in tandem in an almost assembly line fashion. That’s exactly what we did, and it was a glory to behold!
I volunteer my time often to the “Food and Friends” kitchen, and I can tell you nothing drags down the mood of the patrons more than when half the room is eating and the other half is sitting around hungry, as the result of a bottle neck in the kitchen. This, as you can see, is the reason why effiency through proper planning is of paramount concern for the food preparers!
There were no worries whatsoever that day, however, as between the E.B. volunteers in the kitchen and the regular Hebron staff and volunteers, we were able to get the hearty meals on the table in a matter of no time at all, as we had all our plates ready to go at the time of serving.
Words can barely express the gratitude I feel in my heart for the volunteers who came out to assist, and for their willingness to cooperate, organize, and lead in an effort to help the less fortunate when they could have just as easily stayed home and enjoyed the beautiful weather. So to all of you that helped in whatever way you could, my heartfelt thanks.
Bro. Aaron Chauncey
Ezekiel Bates Lodge A.F.& A.M
If you would like to make a contribution to the Hebron Food Pantry
Please CLICK HERE