Hope by the Plateful

On Halloween Day, the bustle of the Family Kitchen was at peak crescendo during lunch time. Eighties club music mixed with the clack of utensils as two dozen diners spread across rows of communal tables. A father and young child played Scrabble while noshing on homemade pizza squares. Others spooned chili, sipped coffee and chatted. Around them, a chorus of Family Kitchen staffers and volunteers kept the meals coming. In the kitchen, an aproned volunteer pulled a sheet of pizza from the oven and placed it on a cooling rack. In the far corner, volunteers carved ham and cubed potatoes — preparation for Sunday’s meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Clipboard in hand, Olivia Parker, Family Kitchen’s executive director, navigated the bustle. That day, two federal judges ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture must utilize emergency savings to fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments through November. On Nov. 3, the Trump administration said payments would only be partial. And then there’s the question of when the federal shutdown will end, and whether there will be SNAP funding for December.

Nationally, roughly 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits, which are good for a variety of groceries and necessities. In Oregon, about 750,000 residents rely on the payments, according to OPB.

“All of the food nonprofits in town have really been coming together with this idea of ‘We don’t know what this [shutdown] is going to bring us,’” Parker said.

Parker has noticed a gradual uptick in regular visitors to the nonprofit she’s helmed since late 2024. Family Kitchen has served up daily, free hot meals according to a no-questions-asked, come-as-you-are open-door policy since 1986. The end of any month is the busiest for Family Kitchen, when monthly SNAP benefits may have run out, Parker said.

“I think a lot of people are kind of holding tightly on to any dollars they have,” Parker said. “If money is tight, come eat here. Save those dollars so that you don’t get evicted. I’m really proud that Family Kitchen can also be a preventative measure for families.”

At the beginning of the year, Family Kitchen served about 4,500 in-person meals each month. By May, that number jumped to nearly 7,000 monthly meals. That’s a marked increase from the busiest month in 2024, where November saw about 5,200 meals distributed in person. This year, counting the Family Kitchen’s Bend location and others in Redmond and Sisters, the nonprofit has consistently provided more than 12,000 meals each month. (In Sisters, Family Kitchen serves meals to-go; In Redmond, the nonprofit operates a prep kitchen where meals are made and then distributed to partners, which include homeless shelters.) All told, October would see about 13,000 served meals, Parker said.

“We’ve been seeing an increase in diners over the months,” she said, adding that anywhere from 40 to 260 people eat at their Bend location each day. “And food is getting more expensive and money is getting harder to come by.”

Like many other Central Oregon hunger-related nonprofits, Family Kitchen does not rely on federal or state grants to fund its operations. Instead, donations from local corporations, churches, grant organizations and individuals keep the nonprofit operating. The average donation is $220.

And while local hunger is acute, Family Kitchen staff don’t rush their food preparation. The pizza squares, for example, are completely made from scratch, right down to the local vegetables and ingredients that go into the red sauce and toppings.

The federal turmoil isn’t lost on Benjamin Courtney, 35, a SNAP recipient and Family Kitchen regular. He took bites of pizza while poring over a well-worn copy of “Seeds of Revolt: 1821-1849,” a biography of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky.

“There’s just less food for more people,” Courtney said. He’s been visiting the Family Kitchen for four years, usually in the morning, when he can secure a bathroom where he can wash up and shave in privacy. Aside from warm meals, Courtney appreciates the Family Kitchen’s “great staff” that’s “really good with dealing with behavioral issues and de-escalation.” The communal tables are also where Courtney catches up with his friends, many of whom are also unhoused.

John Zwierzycki, 58, took a break from washing dishes — a role that has since become his default since he began volunteering at Family Kitchen nearly two years ago. Having moved to Bend from Durango via Philadelphia at the tail-end of Covid, Zwierzycki said he noticed Bend’s homeless crisis while walking past Second Street to his regular coffee socials downtown. He wanted to get involved.

“I couldn’t not do something,” Zwierzycki said. “A psychologist once told me, ‘There’s an ocean of suffering and you only have a bucket. You can choose to use that bucket or you can choose to not use that bucket.’”

During his break, Zwierzycki sat near a corkboard that listed free pet care and addiction treatments. He says he’s gotten to know most of the Family Kitchen regulars; volunteering here five to 10 hours a week has also helped Zwierzycki feel socially integrated into Bend.

“There’s a lot of economic distress,” Zwierzycki said. “I think people at Family Kitchen have a real sense of compassion for their fellow man. This place is a sanctuary for people to get ahold of themselves.”

Across the dining room, near the racks of free second-hand clothing, Keturah Stefani, 48, tucked into a pizza slice. A Family Kitchen regular for four years, she moved in with a boyfriend, who rents a studio, in June. Still, Stefani pops into Family Kitchen on Fridays or anytime she attends service at Trinity Lutheran Church. She also finds time to volunteer. “It’s nice to pay it forward,” she said.

“Family Kitchen has given me the chance to face my fears,” Stefani added. “Once you become fearless, life becomes limitless.”