EAST CHICAGO – Clients got more than a bag of groceries when they arrived at Catholic Charities’ weekly food pantry on June 7 – they were served a free hot breakfast cooked and served by Grace to Griddle, a Dayton, Ohio-based nonprofit that turned the office at 3901 Fir St. into a neighborhood diner for a morning.
Grills and skillets in the organization’s trailer were fired up to simmer sausage links, grill bacon strips and heat hotcakes for the all-you-can-eat breakfast served as the grocery giveaway continued from 9-11 a.m., the regular pantry hours on the first four Fridays of every month.
“It was awesome,” said Tina Gunnum, food pantry manager. “We served about 65 households, so well over 100 people, and those who came were impressed with the meal and the generosity. They were able to eat as much as they wanted.”
In addition to food, clients, who need provide only an Indiana State ID card, received “free clothing, household items and shoes,” Gunnum added. “Some of these donations were received by St. John the Evangelist, Bridges of Possibilities and private donors.”
“I heard a lot of people outside, I looked out my bathroom window,” said neighbor Brandy Carter. “I still have my pajamas on. We’re having pancakes, bacon and sausage.”
Carter added that the Catholic Charities staff and volunteers “are always happy,” as her daughter Skylar Lewis, 10, watched the cooks use the skillet. “I love the people here and I like to get the free clothes, too,” Carter said.
Law practice partners Sean Harmon and John Stachler of Ohio worked like line cooks as they marked their first visit to Indiana for the Grace to Griddle initiative. Their mobile ministry has popped up at locations throughout Ohio and the Mid-South, furthering their call to put their faith into action.
“John and I were on a mission in Mississippi, and we had some kids with us and we didn’t know how we were going to connect with these kids, so we decided to feed them. We got our first trailer and we got a bunch of frozen food," Harmon explained about Grace to Griddle’s founding in 2018.
“We’ve been blessed in our business, and we use our resources to do things that are storing up treasures for us in heaven," Harmon continued. “We’re ardent followers of Jesus and we struggled; it’s hard to be a Jesus-follower and a lawyer because you have to pursue these certain tracks … a lot of times we can be Christ-like, and a lot of the time not so Christ-like.”
Gunnum visited with clients and spoke with volunteers, praising the efforts of the Grace to Griddle founders, whose effort matched the spirit of the diocesan ministry’s pillars of help, hope and service. “Some people took a plate of food home to eat, while others sat down here and ate and talked to each other. It’s good to see people so grateful and happy, sharing a meal and getting along.”
To take advantage of the breakfast event, Gunnum arranged for Northshore Health Centers to educate the community on services they provide, as well as providing items to promote healthy living. “Humana brought volunteers, donated hygiene products and answered questions for those currently on Medicare and/or Medicaid on benefits available to them. Tradebe USA Environmental Services employees volunteered their time today, as they regularly do,” explained Gunnum, whose staff also participated in the Military Stand Down resource fair on June 12 at the Porter County Expo Center, hosted by VNA Hospice NWI.
“Grace to Griddle asked if they could partner with me and if they could come and cook food for the people who receive food at the pantry," Gunnum said. “I said, ‘Absolutely.’ They’ve even donated a griddle to us so we can do this again.”
Harmon noted, “We don’t put any boundaries on who we feed – we just feed hungry people."
Gunnum sees a growing need and hopes to answer that challenge. “This is not just a food pantry. We cover Lake, LaPorte, Porter and Starke counties," she said. “This is more like hunger relief. Last year, we fed 26,000 people and this year, in five months, we have already fed more than 12,000 people.”
In 2022, Gunnum joined Catholic Charities after her faith home, Cornerstone Church in Hobart, closed due to the effects of the pandemic.
At Catholic Charities, internal funding, donations from the East Chicago Foundation for Food Banks credit, as well as private contributions keep the ministry afloat, according to Gunnum. “(Our clients) need everything.”
Volunteer Ruthie Polito said it was important for her to be present at such neighborhood events to “put a face on Catholic Charities.” Another good ambassador, she pointed out, is volunteer John “Jack” Halton, national winner of the Catholic Charities Volunteer of the Year award this year.
Halton, a 92-year-old Korean War veteran and Bishop Noll Institute alumnus, was also present at the pantry event, greeting clients and gathering donations. “The last time I got an award was on June 5, 1950, when I graduated from high school – it was the Citizenship Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution,” he quipped.
Harmon explained his connection to the East Chicago outreach. “One of the main reasons we’re here is because of John Halton. ‘Jack’ is my brother’s (Mike Harmon) father-in-law. We’re here to celebrate his award.”
Jolyne Harmon (nee Halton) assisted at the Catholic Charities event. “My dad is amazing; we’re blessed,” she said.
As the smells of the breakfast foods wafted through the Indiana Harbor neighborhood, siblings Aiden Madera, 8, and Melanie Madera, 11, waited in a doorway for their mom, who had secured some candy and snacks for them from the pantry. They found a place to sit under a tent and went to select some griddle items.
Gunnum looked on with gratitude. “For me, there’s no greater feeling than doing our Lord’s work,” she concluded.
Caption: Volunteers gather near food pantry manager Tina Gunnum (front, second from right) at the Catholic Charities office in East Chicago, where an Ohio-based ministry prepared breakfast from a skillet for guests on June 7. At the Fir Street location, the visit from the Grace to Griddle team was facilitated through a family connection between a Catholic Charities volunteer and one of the attorneys who founded the mobile meals outreach. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)