Community Meals at Emmanuel, a North Country meal program, stopped taking money from Jefferson County and became completely self-funded as of Nov. 1, wwnytv.com reported.
The program serves food on weeknights in the basement of Emmanuel Congregational Church on Hamilton Street in Watertown, feeding dozens of people who need it. Its mission centers on feeding both the bodies and the hearts of the North Country.
“It’s a different kind of beast here. We’re not just trying to feed bellies, we’re trying to feed hearts. We’re trying to feed minds,” Steph Russell, coordinator of Community Meals at Emmanuel, told wwnytv.com.
Before the split, the county provided $149,000 every six months. That money was used to buy food, pay staff, and feed the homeless, though the funding restrictions meant someone who wasn’t homeless might not have been allowed to eat at the program.
Russell explained that collecting the necessary data to secure government funding would take away from helping everyone who walks through the doors. She chose to give up the $149,000 in funding rather than turn people away or bog the operation down in paperwork.
“To be able to get funding, I would have to collect a lot of data and I would be taking away from helping everyone.
So I could still have everyone here, but I would have a lot more paperwork, and it’s just, it’s not doable, right, for how much we could be getting. So basically what it comes down to is I just wanna feed everybody,” Russell said, according to wwnytv.com.
Even with money tight following the amicable separation, Russell believes the program will survive. Staff and volunteers emphasize the community aspect of the church basement dinners, noting that visitors drop by for connection just as much as for sustenance.
“They all come for different reasons. Sometimes it’s because they need a meal, sometimes it’s because they need a chat,” Russell said.
Staff member Mia Smith told wwnytv.com, “Seeing people’s reaction, it just lights a fire in you.” Another staff member, Carla Maria Diaz, added, “Yeah, their smile is everything.” Smith also noted, “It really is just being able to see people happy. It makes us happy.”
Wwnytv.com reported that 7 News reached out to Jefferson County officials regarding the funding shift but did not receive a response.
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