A Lunch With God’s Girls

At 10 AM on a Wednesday morning, I stopped by the Louisville Rescue Mission on Jefferson Street between the Nulu and Phoenix Hill neighborhoods. The organization provides emergency day shelter services to homeless people, including recovery programs, counseling and job skills training. A staff member greeted me and walked me through their facility. We arrived at a newly-renovated kitchen filled with smiles and bright, pink t-shirts.

God’s Girls is a local nonprofit that serves lunch to the clients of the Louisville Rescue Mission every Wednesday. Team members from different church congregations throughout East Louisville join here and unite over their love of cooking and the community.

The menu included a cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole with a slice of bread and cookies for dessert. As the plates were filled, more volunteers, shelter staff, and even a Coast Guard officer, arrived to help serve the crowd of approximately 100 – 125 people.

The energy in the room was active and vibrant. Much care was taken to ensure everyone felt valued, from serving only the tastiest recipes to decorating the tables with festive tablecloths. Many of the lunch guests greeted the God’s Girls team by name or a warm hug.

At the end of the lunch, the dining room began to clear out. The God’s Girls team returned to the kitchen to clean up, plan new recipes, and discuss more opportunities to serve. Their work is inspired by an audience that appreciates and relies upon their heartfelt creations; aside from these lunches, open meals are served there only one other time per week.

Although God’s Girls serves at the Louisville Rescue Mission every Wednesday, their services are expanding. They now provide meal service to local homeless camps on Sundays and partner with other volunteer organizations. “God’s Girls volunteers are beautiful examples of God’s love and mercy to those less fortunate,” adds Linda Schulz, founder of God’s Girls, Inc.

If you enjoy cooking and helping your community, then God’s Girls offers an opportunity to volunteer while making new friends. Men, referred to as God’s Guys, are welcome, too. To learn more, please visit their Facebook page or reach out to Linda Schulz via e-mail at lschulz@twc.com.

For more stories from the 2018 Hunger Innovation Fellowship, please visit: https://www.cflouisville.org/cfl-hunger-innov/.