At Knead Community Café in New Kensington, a meal is more than just a plate of food.
“This is about community and feeding everyone,” said Mary Bode, who opened the nonprofit restaurant with her husband, Kevin, four years ago on Feb. 20. “We care about everyone who walks through the door. We have food, but it’s really about nourishing the mind and giving the soul what it needs.”
Mary Bode said creating a welcoming space for everyone was a dream of hers.
“We are all about loving your neighbor,” Bode said. “And we need to strengthen the bonds of our community by breaking barriers and providing friendship to everyone who walks through our doors, especially in today’s world, where so many people are suffering.”
Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review
A participant in the Thursday meal program exits the Knead Community Cafe with family meals.
Knead Community Café provides healthy meals, using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible, Bode said.
The pandemic has brought to light food insecurity for those who may have lost jobs or whose children are at home more and not receiving lunches and sometimes breakfast at school.
Bode said she realizes the need is greater than ever. The café has been able to continue to provide meals in a safe environment.
The place operates on donations of food and money. Individuals and companies sponsor tables in the café.
Several restaurants have given their food to the café, which really helped it survive, Bode said. Those eating establishments had to temporarily close because of covid-19.
The café has adapted to Gov. Tom Wolf’s covid-19 orders for indoor dining. There is plenty of room to socially distance patrons. Carryout and curbside pickup also is available. People can order online.
When guests come in, they are given a suggested amount that is comparable to a similar dining establishment. If they can afford to pay that amount, then great. If they can’t, they pay what they can.
There also are meals available for those who can’t pay at all.
The cost is covered from donations.
On Thursdays, Knead provides 240 grab-and-go meals from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. They’ve distributed more than 9,300 since its inception last year.
There is a wish list of items the café needs. People fulfill those wants, Bode said.
The menu changes throughout the year, and some items are featured based on the ingredients available to chef Carlo Cimino. He has worked at the café for a year.
At the end of the day, Cimino feels good about what he’s doing.
Cimino said he often thinks to himself something like, “Hey, we are low on ground meat. … And I will come in the next day, and someone will have donated ground meat.
“People are so generous. We are making a difference here. I believe in the mission.”
That mission was inspired from Mary and Kevin Bode’s trips to developing countries to help others in need.
They noticed a need in their own backyard.
“It’s about faith,” Mary Bode said. “When you sit and share a meal, that is an intimate bond.”
Paula Langer, manager of Knead Café, said the café is a place of hope, a great spot for someone to enjoy a hot meal and know that someone cares.
“I love being part of something that reaches people,” Langer said. “If you help one person, you help their world.”
Lending a hand is why Colleen Clark-Sulava of New Kensington volunteers two days a week, making salads. She said it’s about doing something to improve the neighborhood she lives in.
“It is important to be part of the community,” Clark-Sulava said. “And places like this need our support. I am proud to be a part of it.”
Volunteers are the heart of the place, Bode said. She said she and her husband, who has a full-time job with Northwestern Mutual, could not do what they do without them.
Friends Kathy Wescoat and Regina Namey, both from the area, enjoyed lunch on a recent Wednesday afternoon. Both said the soups are “unbelievable.”
Namey said she dines there because it’s about supporting a café that does so much for the community. They also quietly offer a meal so no one has to know if you can’t afford one, she said.
“There are great people here,” said Wescoat, who has had meetings at the Knead Café and also brings friends to dine there. “They really care. It’s about more than a meal.
“It’s about caring for humanity.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact JoAnne at 724-853-5062, jharrop@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Food & Drink | Lifestyles | Local | Valley News Dispatch
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