Dayspring Baptist Church in Chehalis Serves Hundreds of Meals From Food Truck

While maintaining social distance and staying home remains the direction from medical professionals fighting the coronavirus, residents still need basic necessities. Groups like the one formed at Chehalis’ Dayspring Baptist Church are working to bring assistance to those who need it. 

Pastor Chris Kruger has enlisted the help of some in the church’s congregation to serve meals out of Dayspring Baptist’s food truck, He-Brews Table Food Truck, at SouthCreek Apartments in Centralia. SouthCreek is one of Lewis County’s low-income housing facilities.

Kruger and his team decided they wanted to help SouthCreek thanks to a member of the Dayspring congregation who lives at the complex. He also said the church has a history of helping the residents. 

“This pandemic rose the opportunity to reconnect with those people that are on a lower income and be able to use the food truck for that purpose,” Kruger said. “What we’re really trying to do is, on the weekends, the schools have been great at being able to feed lunches during the week, we’re just picking up the slack on the weekend.”

The Washington State Department of Health issued a temporary permit for the church to be able to serve out of the food truck as long as safety guidelines are followed. Additionally, signs are posted at the site of the meal distribution, reminding those utilizing the meal service to remain cognizant of social distancing procedures. 

Kruger said the Health Department has been “wonderful.” 

“We meet their expectations, they’ve worked with us and I just can’t say enough about them,” Kruger said. “We’re just happy to be able to be a part of this community and be able to meet the needs of the community however we can.”

In the first two weeks offering the service, the group has served “over 300 meals,” according to Dayspring Baptist secretary Kelsey Evans. 

“We’re sticking closely to the health department’s guidelines,” Kruger said. “It’s been amazing.”

The amount of meals they’ve been able to hand out, though, has taken Kruger by surprise. The group hands out lunches at noon on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sundays. On Saturday, April 11, Kruger said the group handed out 90 sack lunches over “about 45, 50 minutes.” 

That Sunday, he said about 85 meals were prepared. They were gone in just under an hour. 

“They’re (the residents) are being really careful at keeping the social distance and we’re regulating that,” Kruger said. “So now, even with the social distance and being outside, what is happening is that we’ve been able to talk with them and really provide a family atmosphere and a more quiet atmosphere to ease their concerns.” 

He adds that the operation has gotten by with the help of donations and volunteers. With the unexpected demand, Kruger says the only way the group can continue handing out food is with more donations and volunteers. 

“Our church is only 50 people, we don’t have a big church,” Kruger said. “The only way we can do it is through donations and then volunteers who want to help out. So, that’s what we need. When the donations stop, we’ll probably have to stop. We’re depending on the Lord to give us food, for however long He wants to give it to us.” 

For those who want to donate, Kruger said they can call Dayspring Baptist at 360-748-3401, Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Evans can assist in that process. While he said the phone was the easiest way to facilitate donations, he said emails can also be sent to Dayspringbaptist316@outlook.com and those looking to help the cause can reach out to the church through Facebook as well. 

According to Kruger, the motivation behind the initiative is simple. 

“That really is what compelled us,” Kruger said. “We just want to share our love for the Lord and our love for this community.”