Summary: Six years ago, Katie’s Kitchen served 100 meals on a busy Thursday. Now, the Butler program serves more than 300 meals regularly. Learn how they are meeting the need and about their needs as well.

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Six years ago, when I took over as manager of Katie’s Kitchen, one of the community meals that is part of Community Meal Ministries, we were serving about 80 meals each week to folks who were eating inside Schramm Hall.

On a very busy Thursday, we would serve 100 meals, and we thought that was a crazy number of hungry people in Butler.

Fast forward to Sept. 11, 2025, and Katie’s Kitchen served 340 meals to those coming to our doors, and this is only the second week of the month.

The numbers we serve will only grow as the month goes on. Many people take multiple meals for relatives or neighbors that are sick or unable to pick the meals up themselves due to mobility or other issues.

This story repeats itself each weeknight in Butler when the five churches that make up the Community Meal Ministries take turns in preparing meals for the needy. Using our own funds and community resources, feeding these numbers is becoming increasingly difficult.

As we look forward to the future of a growing Butler County, we need to prepare for what we see is ahead of us for the most vulnerable in our population. I feel these areas need to be addressed:

■ SNAP & Medicaid: With the anticipated loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and Medicaid restrictions for so many, we will have many more who will need assistance for food and shelter. We anticipate many more in need of a free meal because the money they do have will need to go for rent, utilities, and other very basic necessities.

■ Job creation/higher minimum wage: One of the requirements for getting SNAP benefits is that a person needs to be looking for work or volunteering. Many of the folks we serve could never hold down a full-time job due to physical or mental disabilities, age or drug use.

The folks who are capable need jobs that pay a fair living wage. We see many who are underemployed. They go to jobs that pay very little, and so often they are even working two jobs just to make ends meet. If some unexpected issue arises — for example an automotive issue or illness in the family — it takes the little financial resources they have and they are left unable to feed their family.

It is critical that Pennsylvania raise the minimum wage to a level that will allow folks to earn a fair wage to support themselves without the need for free meals or government assistance.

■ Child care: Most folks don’t realize how important and expensive child care is unless they are someone who needs it.

Sometimes there is a family member — often grandma — who is available to care for their children. However, with so many more folks over the age of 65 who are working, this number is getting smaller.

So many families are forced to look outside the family for reliable child care. Typically, day care facilities usually operate from about 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. That is great if parents have a “day job” and it pays enough to pay for child care and household expenses which a current minimum wage job will not.

If someone works shifts, as so many do, there is often no one to care for the children during those evening or overnight hours. Employers are not terribly sympathetic to single parents who miss work because there is no one to care for their children.

Again, paying for child care often cuts into the grocery budget for the week.

Affordable child care is a must if we expect more people to be working to support their families.

■ Donations: We will also need more from our communities. Each of the Community Meal Ministries churches rely heavily on volunteers and community donations.

We are fortunate to live in a very generous community that supports so many of the nonprofits in our area. Those donations of food and money are especially important for the meals that we serve.

The City of Butler is considered “a food desert.” There are no grocery stores available in walking distance for most people to get fresh produce and meat. If you do not drive, you are left with only dollar stores to supply your daily food needs and even that is limited.

Each of the Community Meal Ministries churches work to provide a hot, nutritious meal for those we serve. With rising food prices, this is becoming more of a challenge, especially as the number of meals we serve increases.

We need to keep those donations coming and work for additional fundraising efforts for all the nonprofits as our county grows.

■ Volunteers: And as those of us who are volunteering now in any number of organizations throughout the county begin to age out, we need younger, able-bodied folks to step up to take our place.

Every organization I know needs young people to help their group carry on its mission. Not only groups like the churches of Community Meal Ministries, but also groups like Meals on Wheels, the Rotary, the Butler Lions, the Soroptimists and so many others who are looking to pass on their legacy of community service to the next generation.

■ Funding for support services: Butler County is blessed with many support services that the vulnerable in our community need.

Mental health, drug and alcohol programs and parts of our safety net such as Center for Community Resources, Area Agency on Aging and Alliance for Nonprofit Resources are important local and federal resources for these folks.

Many have nowhere else to turn for the help they need on a daily basis. These and other support services need federal funds and more staff to continue to operate effectively in Butler County. Without these services, the quality of life for many of our most vulnerable neighbors will suffer.

As the number of people in our county grows, so will the number of folks who need additional help to meet their daily needs! Supporting all our social services will go a long way to creating a larger, stronger Butler County that we can all be proud of.

A Ford City native, Justine Brown moved to Butler in 1974 and spent the next 37 years teaching family and consumer science for the Butler Area School District. Since retirement, she has been busy as former part-time activities assistant at Newhaven Court at Clearview, current manager of Katie’s Kitchen, a Penn State Master gardener, and is an active member of All Saints Parish. She and her husband, Bill, live in Butler.