” I was there picking up meals for my family because we were in a rough patch, and I knew I needed to help.”
— Kyle Marchuk
thought were going to take months to accomplish, we were able to check off in just a few weeks.”
Mother’ s Cupboard Kitchen opened its original Bean Blossom location on October 1, 1999, less than six months after the group’ s fateful lunch.
The founding group of friends and some volunteers ran everything until a new group stepped up in 2005.
In 2016, Mother’ s Cupboard moved to its current location at 646 Memorial Drive, in Nashville by the fairgrounds.
“ I got to take a tour of the new building before it opened to the public,” Diana said.“ I went in and just cried. It was everything we had dreamed of.”
Today’ s mission,“ sharing the recipe for fighting hunger,” is different from the original, but the goal of helping close the gap on food insecurity remains the same.
“ There are still a lot of food insecurities in this county,” said Kitchen Director Kyle Marchuk.“ Nobody should go without food,” she said.
Mother’ s Cupboard serves free hot meals to community members, no questions asked, from 4 to 6 p. m. six days a week. The kitchen is closed Sundays.
The kitchen also offers dry food staples, fresh dairy products, fruits and vegetables and other items clients can take home to stock their refrigerators and pantries.
“ The reason I even started volunteering was because I saw a sign in the window that said they needed help cooking meals,” Kyle said.“ I was there picking up meals for my family because we were in a rough patch, and I knew I needed to help.
“ My kids basically grew up in the kitchen,” Kyle said.“ While I was cooking, they would be stocking shelves or helping with other tasks.”
“ I was probably 12 when I started coming with mom,” said Kyle’ s daughter Rayana.“ I love it here. I have always loved being in the kitchen. It is something I love doing with my mom.”
So far, in 2023, Mother’ s Cupboard serves about 120 to 150 meals six nights a week. All meals are sent home in to-go boxes.
Kyle said.“ For as small of a town as we are, we are really blessed. We have a great community backing us.”
Food donations come from restaurants, schools, churches, grocery stores and food banks. In March, the school system held a food drive and donated more than 10,000 pounds of food to the kitchen.
In the Mother’ s Cupboard conference room, a striking painting hangs on the back wall. Standing in the center of the painting, welcoming clients to the kitchen, is Chef Sherry Houze. Chef Sherry was the heartbeat of the kitchen for nearly a decade, until her passing in 2022.
“ I learned so much from Chef Sherry. She taught me everything,” Kyle said.“ She was amazing. She put together this entire program that makes all of this work. And she pushed for a bigger facility. She even designed the kitchen.”
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May / June 2023 • Our Brown County 63