Imagine a place where everyone feels welcomed and safe. A place where you’re greeted with smiles and connected with people through food and conversation. You can go there to have a good meal if you’re not food insecure, and if you are food insecure, you can go there for the same delicious meal free of charge. It’s a place where people from your neighborhood and other farther away neighborhoods frequent and a place where you’ll see people of every age from every walk of life. It’s a community where everyone looks out for everyone else. Such a place exists thanks to two kind people who had a calling on their hearts. We all know that food brings people together and builds community and now thanks to them, everyone can experience that connection over a meal.
Mary and Kevin Bode have always been community service-oriented and passionate about helping others. Years ago, they traveled often to other countries to serve through mission projects. One day that all changed when Kevin was driving home after they returned from a trip abroad through a local neighborhood that was once vibrant and bustling but was now economically challenged. That evening at dinner, the conversation was started that was soon to be life changing for both of them. The realization that while serving abroad was important, there were people here in their own backyard who were in need of service too. They both never looked back.
Many months, blood, sweat, and tears, and career changes later – and a giant leap of faith – Knead Community Café was established in 2017 in New Kensington, PA. Community cafes have become more prevalent and more important in the U.S. over the past decades. Not only can they build social connections that can mitigate the negative effects of economic or neighborhood stress, but they provide a place to feed people healthy homecooked meal options with dignity where you don’t know who overpaid or underpaid. You’re just sharing food and conversation and that much needed human connection.
I visited the café for lunch last month and it truly is a special place. It’s mission – to bring people from all walks of life together – those who are food insecure and those who are not – serve them with dignity both delicious and healthy foods and ultimately strengthen and build the community. I witnessed their mission in action the day I had lunch there. When you enter the café you’re welcomed by a colorful sign explaining how it operates. It read “Give (suggested donation); Give Some (pay what you can); Give More (pay it forward); Give of Yourself (volunteer up to one hour).” The volunteers and the staff were so welcoming and just genuinely happy to be part of the café community.
Not only are the people welcoming but their space is too. Inside, the center of the café is anchored by a large farmhouse table that sits at least 12 with unmatched antique chairs and varied glass lights hanging above it. The remainder of the room is scattered with smaller tables, fresh flowers in vases, and a bakery box and drink counter which is complimentary with your meal donation. Outside the café, they created a patio area with small tables, flower gardens and a large herb garden as well. The day I visited, they had fresh locally-grown corn and herbs free for the taker. They have definitely created “community.”
Knead Community Café has a seasonal changing menu and also offers daily specials which are chef favorites each week. I was impressed with the variety of soups, sandwiches, salads, and entrée dishes. I had the fried green tomatoes on multi-grain bread with caramelized onions. It was completely different from any way I have ever eaten fried green tomatoes and it was delicious. I invited my mother-in-law to join me for lunch that day and she had an inspired chicken Milanese over mushroom risotto. I definitely will go there again, both to eat and to volunteer.
After my visit, I had the chance to catch up with founder Mary Bode to ask her some questions.
How does your funding model work to ensure you can provide meals free of charge to those in need?
There are many ways in which we receive support to continue this important mission. First, so many patrons are generous and pay it forward which means they pay more than the suggested price for their meal. We rely on that generosity to help offset the cost of someone who is in need of a meal. We also have a lovely banquet room that can be rented out for gatherings and events. Also, 30% of our budget comes from fundraising efforts. We are a nonprofit organization, and we receive funding from some of our local businesses, individual donors and community foundations. We have a great and modest staff and a lot of really awesome volunteers.
What have you done to continue to create community at the Café?
At the start of the cafe, we hosted a free community dinner once a month to anyone wanting fellowship or to eat a good meal. It was basically opening our doors and inviting the neighbors to join us and build community. Then COVID hit in 2020 and everything shifted to just grab and go meals, and we saw an increase in need for those meals. Not knowing what Covid was, we discussed among our small staff and felt called to offer these meals on a weekly basis to help alleviate hunger insecurity. We truly relied on our faith in God and our community to find a solution during that time. After things started opening-up again after the pandemic, we had a lot of questions about when we’ll start our in- person Thursday night meals again. So we did. Now, we serve free grab and go meals every Thursday evening with the third Thursday of the month being an eat in only dinner. Since the pandemic, we have served over 54,000 meals on Thursdays with the generous help of weekly sponsors to partner with the cafe and cover some of the cost for these vital outreach meals.
The food is important to people, but what we learned is, so is the connection to people.
On a personal note, when cooking, what is your go to meal?
Now that our kids are grown, my husband and I make a lot of proteins with nice salads for dinner since we are on the go. But when the kids were younger, their special request was my chicken enchiladas and rice because that was their favorite meal.
What’s your favorite family food memory?
I have such found memories of my family’s Friday grilled pizza nights in the summer. It brought everyone together and we enjoyed mixing it up from week to week with fun toppings. Although not weekly, we still enjoy inviting friends and family over in the summer to relax.
For more information about Knead Community Café and to find out their hours, visit here.
