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Tom and Allie Viney, pictured here, started Serve last January as a platform for providing a healthy, homemade and “no-barriers” meal in Phoenix Park each week to anyone who shows up. Photo by Tamara Watson
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Photo by Tamara Watson
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Photo by Tamara Watson
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Photo by Tamara Watson
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Photo by Tamara Watson
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Meals served via Serve are mostly made earlier in the week at home by the Vineys, and often include homemade bread, pasta, sandwiches and other items, adjusted according to the season and the requests of the recipients. Photo by Tamara Watson
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Photo by Tamara Watson
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Photo by Tamara Watson
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Photo by Tamara Watson
Family dinners have always been important for Tom Viney and his 13-year-old daughter, Allie. But for the past year, the term “family dinner” has taken on a new meaning to the Vineys, as the father-daughter duo – along with a rotating crew of other volunteers that often includes Tom’s parents and sister – have spent their Wednesday evenings in downtown’s Phoenix Park, serving free homemade meals to whomever shows up.
“We want to make sure that anyone who is need of a healthy meal, we are there to serve it to them,” said Tom. He and Allie co-founded the grassroots organization Serve last January, in response to what they saw as a need for a platform not only to provide a warm, healthy meal for Lexington’s downtown community – no questions asked – but also to provide a barrier-free service outlet for people who want to give back.
“We’ve had amazing volunteer growth over the past several months,” said Tom, adding that on any given Wednesday, anywhere from 15 to 30 volunteers come to Phoenix Park to help serve a home-cooked meal. Several volunteers have become weekly regulars, including Tracey Bolinger, who lives at Park Place Apartments, adjacent to Phoenix Park, and recalls being struck by Tom’s assembly in its early days as she walked by it on her way home each week.
“I asked ’How can I help?’” Bolinger said. “He said, ’You can help right now,’ and he [handed] me a spoon.”
Bolinger and her daughter, Rose, now volunteer almost every week bringing 10 dozen hard-boiled eggs – a favorite item among Serve’s community, which has also grown significantly in its first year. Tom estimates that the group serves 80-90 people each week, with about 3,000 meals having been served in 2016. Many of the recipients are homeless, Tom said, but he emphasized that the initiative has no prerequisites – it’s also geared toward people who simply don’t have the resources to provide their families with a healthy meal.
“I’m not there to fix homelessness,” he said. “I’m there simply addressing someone’s hunger.”
After the food is served each week – it is usually distributed in about 20 minutes, Tom said – volunteers make their way around the park to collect any trash and to visit with the community of recipients, which he describes as an incredibly gracious group of people. Taking the time and opportunity to get to know the people they serve on a more personal level, he said, has been invaluable for breaking down stereotypes and dismissing preconceived notions. It’s something that’s particularly important for the growing number of volunteers each week who are Allie’s daughter’s age and even younger – a demographic that has been increasing among Serve’s volunteer base.
“It’s teaching our children, this next generation, not only the importance of serving our community, but also treating people no matter where they are in life with compassion and respect,” he said. “That is a really important lesson, and that is something that is very easily lost.”
Other volunteers and local restaurants such as Cheddar’s and Saul Good sometimes donate food, and monetary donations have made it possible for Serve to regularly provide grab bags stuffed with “to go” items such as fresh fruit, sandwiches, water and Powerade, in addition to warm meals, which are typically prepared at home by Tom and Allie earlier that week. Soup, pasta, homemade bread and sandwiches all make regular appearances, and the meals are adjusted both according to the season and to the requests and needs of the recipients. Nutrition is a strong underlying theme each week – Tom, who calls cooking his “creative outlet,” said he and Allie have increasingly worked toward incorporating a healthy diet into their own home in recent years, and the family appreciates the opportunity to extend that value unto the Serve community.
“Preparing and serving a healthy, homemade meal gives me an opportunity to share something that is important to me with our guests,” said Tom. A balance of fresh fruits, vegetables, fiber and proteins are incorporated into the meals each week, out of respect for the physical and mental state of their recipients – for example, bananas make a regular appearance, as potassium is an essential nutrient for folks who are on their feet all day.
Viney said that his initial hope with the organization was to teach his daughter that “we are a community – no matter where you are in this community, you’re there to help people.” According to Allie’s grandmother Debbie Viney, the eighth-grader from Scott County – who designed the logo for Serve and also helps spread the word about the initiative via social media – is learning much more than that.
“She’s very aware now, if we go out to dinner, because Tom always has her do the tip, and she’ll look at the bill and what a dinner out for our family costs…then she goes with him when he goes grocery shopping and she sees what the same amount of money can do when you make a homemade meal and will feed 75 people,” Debbie said.
“I think she’s gained a new perception of humanity,” she continued. ”She connects to the different people – they say it’s the best part of their week.”
In addition to seeking volunteers each week, Serve also accepts donations of food, and particularly as the weather gets colder, clothing and personal items such as gloves, hats, jackets and backpacks. Financial donations can be made at any Whittaker Bank to the “Serve” account. The organization can be found on Facebook (Serve) as well as Twitter and Instagram (@serve_lex), and anyone interested in volunteering or donating food or other items can contact the organization via Facebook or show up to Phoenix Park any Wednesday, just before 6 p.m. to help serve.