Dignity Diner

On Tuesday night, Olivia and I volunteered at Holy Covenant Methodist Church's Dignity Diner. Dignity Diner happens every Tuesday. The church opens it's doors to the hungry and serves a hot vegetarian meal. I've been looking for a volunteer opportunity like this for a while, so when I learned that the church offered it, it was perfect. What is different about Dignity Diner is that instead of having the homeless line up to be served buffet style, the volunteers go to them, like waiters, while they sit and enjoy dinner. This proved to be a bit of a negative. Let me explain.

We went straight from work because dinner was served at 6. I really should have brought a change of clothes because heels weren't the best option. We were introduced to the other volunteers and event leaders. On the menu was salad, pizza, and desserts. For the most part interacting with the diners was fine...most were thankful for the food and sort of sat quietly, ate, and interacted with the other people. Only one man aggressively asked for his food, and most understood the concept of making sure the food was evenly served. There was one man, however, who was a bit of a problem. Let's just say he was very fond of the lovely young ladies serving him dinner. He liked hugs, kissing our hands, and talking very closely to us (with his breathe reeking of alcohol). This is where I kind of would have preferred the buffet method of serving. That way there's a barrier between you and the diners.

Overall the experience was a good one. I left feeling good like I'd definitely do it again; next time keeping a bit more of a distance and maybe volunteering to do more of the prep work, rather than serving the food. Oh, and wearing nice work clothes probably wasn't a great idea. I will definitely bring a change of clothes in the future.