ESTEVAN -
The Warm Welcome Kitchen is going to start serving meals again now that it has hired Donna McGillicky as its new kitchen co-ordinator.
The first meal of the 2022-23 season will be on Feb. 9 at St. Giles Anglican Church. Meals will be served every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Warm Welcome Kitchen board president Wendy Godfrey said they hope to add a second church for meals, so they could alternate locations as they have in the past.
Godfrey noted McGillicky stepped forward after seeing an article that the Mercury ran last month about the kitchen’s need for a new cook.
“Donna has a lot of experience in these types of things. She worked for 10 years over at Creighton Lodge, and came with a great recommendation from the folks over there,” said Godfrey. “She has experience in cooking for crowds, along with following the regulations for keeping the kitchen clean.”
It’s a “huge” sense of relief having McGillicky in place, Godfrey said. The previous co-ordinator stepped down last summer. They had three candidates in September, but all three decided it wasn’t the job for them.
“We looked for people, and nobody showed up,” said Godfrey.
They reached the point of wondering if they should close down and stop the Warm Welcome program for good.
“And then Donna got in touch with us, and wanted to apply, and boy, we sure are glad she did,” said Godfrey.
The kitchen is looking forward to the start of the season. For the first time since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions hit in March 2020, Warm Welcome will have sit-down meals, as opposed to serving food in take-out containers.
When they ended last year, they were serving 70-80 take-out meals each time.
“I would guess there would be that many again, but there could be more,” said Godfrey. “Food prices keep going up and up … and that means more people are struggling to pay for food, and will need the help of a free meal or two a week.”
She was getting asked every week by different people about when Warm Welcome would start up again. It served as a reminder that the program is needed in Estevan, not just for those who struggle to afford groceries, but those who come to supper for the social element.
McGillicky, who retired from Creighton Lodge in 2020, said she had been thinking about doing something new for a while. When she saw that the kitchen program was looking for a co-ordinator, she thought she had the requisite experience and enjoyment of cooking, so she applied.
“I prefer cooking for a larger group than just for the two of us at home,” said McGillicky.
She believes she has cooked for a crowd as large as what she’ll see at Warm Welcome. And McGillicky expects her experience at Creighton Lodge will be beneficial.
And she already has her first meal in mind. If the weather on Feb. 9 is cold and nasty, she will serve up stew for the guests. If it’s a nicer day, which it’s supposed to be, then roast beef will be on the menu.
McGillicky also looks forward to serving up such foods as shepherd’s pie, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, pulled pork, homemade soups and more.
This will be her first involvement with the Warm Welcome Kitchen, but she is familiar with the work they do in the community.
“I look forward to meeting all of the different people,” she said.
Godfrey said they could use more volunteers. With sit-down meals, they need a few extra helpers compared to when it was a to-go supper. Donations would be welcome as well, although they believe they have sufficient funds for this season.
“With prices going up, we’re hopefully in a good place, but we would like to be able to have a little bit in the bank going forward into next season as well,” said Godfrey.
The Warm Welcome Kitchen will wrap up its current season at the end of April.
