MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — For more than 20 years community members have been able to come to Temple United Methodist Church in Muskegon Heights to unwind and enjoy a free meal from Supper House Ministries.
"Anybody that wants a hot meal can step through these doors and sit down at a table," said Kitchen Coordinator and Chef Brenda Coleman. "There's no questions asked."
Many in the area know Coleman as "Mama Brenda," or "Miss Brenda."
Monday through Saturday each week, Coleman cooks up food to feed up to 100 people a night.
"If you do the math and all that, that's about 12,000 people a year," said Doug Hughes, Supper House program director. "It's all free to them."
While being devoted to serving the community for decades, the past several months have seen the ministry getting some help in return.
"One of the freezers was breaking," said Hughes. "We began to price out the cost of new refrigerators, and they're like $3,000 apiece. So at the next meeting, I indicated to the board we don't have that kind of money in the bank. We all need to start praying."
Coleman said after she had returned home from the meeting, she received a phone call telling her that Woman Who Care, a group of 200 women in the Muskegon area, each gifted Supper House $100.
"It turned out to be $20,000 that they selected us to receive," said Hughes.
The donation was more than enough to replace the aging equipment, as Coleman was able to redo her entire kitchen.
Walls were re-painted, new flooring was put in and counters and shelving were installed to make items more accessible to volunteers.
Although the work is still nearing completion, the construction didn't make Coleman miss a beat.
Nor did she miss any meals.
"Once I was out without an oven, I was able to make meals in oven roasters, do a lot of prep work that way, using my steam table as a holding stage so it didn't miss a beat. We've still been operational and feeding that 60 to 100 people a day," said Coleman.
While Coleman will soon have a new and completed kitchen, she said the most important things will never change.
"It's nothing but God, it's just a blessing," said Coleman. "It's a passion. It's a love, and you know, as long as God continues waking me up every day, I'll be here and making sure they get a hot meal."
Supper House serves meals at Temple United Methodist Church in Muskegon Heights, Monday through Saturday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.