To love and serve

Morrilton church offers free breakfast

Nicki Suddeth, right, serves Morrilton football player C.J. Gonzales, 17, while Kyren Gilreath, 17, waits his turn at the free Summer Food Service Program at First Presbyterian Church in Morrilton. The program, in its third year, offers free breakfast from 8-9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, and the last day for the meal will be Aug. 12.
Nicki Suddeth, right, serves Morrilton football player C.J. Gonzales, 17, while Kyren Gilreath, 17, waits his turn at the free Summer Food Service Program at First Presbyterian Church in Morrilton. The program, in its third year, offers free breakfast from 8-9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, and the last day for the meal will be Aug. 12.

The lull didn’t last long Monday at the free Summer Food Service Program at First Presbyterian Church in Morrilton, and volunteer Sue Spivey’s eyes got big when the first teenager entered: “Football players!” she said, laughing.

The young men came through the doors of the Fellowship Hall — each one seemingly bigger than the last — and filled their plates with scrambled eggs, waffles, biscuits and gravy, sausage and bacon.

C.J. Gonzales, 17, the first one in the door, had plenty of room to spare on his plate.

“I’m going to eat some more; I’ll get seconds,” he said.

This is the third year the church has

offered a free breakfast for the community.

“We don’t turn anyone away,” said Spivey, a member of the church who has volunteered since the program’s beginning. Her husband, Charles, helps cook the meal.

Breakfast is served from 8-9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday at the church, 105 W. Church St., and will continue through Aug. 12.

The church was being assisted financially by the Arkansas Department of Human Services for the project, but the church’s application was denied this year, said John Hogan, a member of the congregation who heads up the breakfast program.

“They tell us we have to give each child 8 ounces of milk; kids prefer juice or Sunny D,” he said. Also, adults can eat breakfast through the

program, not just children.

“When we first started, it was for the kids. Some of these old grandparents we got looked undernourished; we started feeding them,” he said.

Hogan had prepared a letter to ask for an appeal of the DHS decision, but Spivey said Tuesday that it was a “definite no” from DHS.

“I’m disappointed,” Hogan said. “We’re going to run our program with or without their support. It’s growing like crazy; it’s just busting this year.”

As of July 22, he said 2,024 children had been fed, as well as 579 volunteers and 1,106 “nonprogram” adults, for a total of 3,709.

Sue Brewer of Plumerville said she takes care of five of her nine grandchildren in the summer, so she brings them to eat breakfast.

“They go back and eat all they want and get full,” she said. On Monday, one of the children was at camp, but her father, Will Black, accompanied her.

Brewer, who said she is disabled, said the free breakfast helps her make ends meet.

“With me and my income and stuff, it helps me save a whole lot of money,” she said.

Kimberly Hughes of Morrilton said she brings her three grandchildren, who are 6, 5 and 4 years old. Her granddaughter Kameran

Armstrong, 6, was eating waffles. “It’s good,” she said.

“It takes a lot of work off you if you don’t have to get up and cook your grandkids breakfast, and they’re pretty good cooks, too. Every day when we leave, I always tell the ladies ‘thank you,’” Hughes said. “[My grandchildren] look forward to coming to this little thing.”

Jay Knudsen of Morrilton said he and his wife, Shannan, joined the church about a year ago, and the feeding program was part of the draw.

“We had driven by, and we saw the sign. … We said, ‘That’s something we can actually get behind,’” he said. “My wife and I have a huge heart for social justice. It’s near and dear to our heart to be a tangible measure of relief to people.”

They have two boys, Andrew, 4, and Jacob, 3, and two foster daughters, ages 5 and 6.

“They’re so excited when I tell them, ‘Hey, we’re going to church for breakfast,” he said.

One of the foster children said she liked to attend the breakfast because “there’s toys and rooms.” Her favorite food served at the church is “waffles,” she said, grinning.

Jay Knudsen said that as a stay-at-home dad, “it’s nice to be able to come up here and get a breakfast made.”

He said he and his wife have opened their home to other foster children, and he’s brought those children to the church breakfast program.

“It helps them get to be with a group of kids and gets the church to get to know them and love on them,” he said.

Wanda Delacerda, who has been a member of the church for 10 years, said she takes food to a mother who was walking a mile with her eight children to the church.

“She’s so appreciative,” Delacerda said.

Breakfast organizers said volunteers also come from the First United Methodist, First Baptist, Sacred Heart Catholic and Cumberland Presbyterian churches.

Hogan said volunteers aren’t scheduled; they just show up.

“We may have 15 volunteers; we may have 22 volunteers,” he said. “We have a good meal every day.”

Sue Spivey said the free breakfast program is a result of the church’s mission statement, “To walk humbly and to love and to serve.”

First Presbyterian Church’s new minister, the Rev. Steve Frazier, called the program “outstanding.” He and his wife, Diana, moved from Nebraska almost 1 1/2 years ago.

He said the need in Conway County is consistent with what he saw in Nebraska.

“It was not different; it was not shocking,” he said. “The ministry itself is shocking because it’s not done very often.”

He said the free breakfast program is living out the life of Jesus.

“It’s consistent with his life and consistent with who he was,” Frazier said.

Sue Spivey said the breakfast might be the only good meal some of the children get all day.

Diana Frazier was standing at the door when the football players came in.

She said the volunteers snack around when there’s a break.

“When the football team comes, there’s no break,” she said, laughing. “It’s awesome all the connections we make with these young folks. It’s exciting. Some come to eat when they don’t have practice. They bring their families and their siblings.”

Kyren Gilreath, 17, said the players lift weights, run and practice football. The coaches want the players to eat “right after practice,” he said, so they do.

Church volunteer Nicki Suddeth was serving biscuits, and she repeatedly asked the teenagers coming through the line, “Two?”

The common answer was, “Yes, ma’am.”

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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