For many families throughout central Indiana, this Easter will seem less joyous than those in the past.
The ongoing COVID-19 catastrophe has left many jobless and struggling, and has added extra weight to the burden that people who were already in need carried.
But with the help of a Center Grove area church and a local barbecue business, 500 people will have an Easter dinner to enjoy this year.
"Even in the current situation, a lot of folks down here in Johnson County might take for granted having a nice Easter meal," said Keith Johnson, owner of Smokehouse catering company. "We wanted to do something for folks."
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Johnson offered his culinary services and partnered with Mount Pleasant Christian Church to provide hot Easter meals for those in need Thursday. Clients who came to the church for its regular food and clothing service were treated with a hot ham meal, colored Easter eggs and Easter cupcakes.
The distribution was a way to shed a little light on a dark time for families.
"We’re very involved in our community. Being a local food pantry down here, we thought it would impact more people right here in our backyard. It was something we thought was important," Johnson said.
Cars lined up all the way through the Mount Pleasant parking lot early Thursday morning, as local residents in need waited patiently for their special meal. One by one, they pulled next to a trailer where the smokey smell of ham drifted out of open windows.
Volunteers wearing face masks and gloves ran up to each car, carrying packaged hot meals filled with the ham, mashed potatoes, green beans and other sides.
Once they had their food, they pulled into the IMPACT Center for another package of food to help feed their families through this difficult time. The plan was to serve at 9 a.m. and again at noon.
The response early on was almost overwhelming, said Chris Philbeck, pastor at Mount Pleasant Christian Church.
"We had such a large group of people that came out this morning. I hope we’re going to have enough meals for everyone. It’s been crazy," he said.
The IMPACT Center is a ministry of the church, a center of worship where those in need receive hope and encouragement, as well as necessary food and clothing for themselves and their families. What started in a home down the street from the church has grown into a standalone building on the church’s campus where clients can get the items they need.
The center is open every Thursday and Saturday. Families may receive food and clothing once a week. They also participate in a worship service, led by Steve Saunders, the IMPACT Center pastor.
"We’ve been feeding this community for about 15 years, even if it wasn’t something we set out to do. The phrase that spoke to my heart was, ‘Sometimes, our opportunities become our vision.’ I never had the vision to start this kind of ministry, but the opportunity was so overwhelming and the need was so great that we decided to think about that and pray about that," Philbeck said.
On average, the center assists between 300 and 350 families a week by providing food, clothing and other household needs, Philbeck said.
That need increased in the past month as the community was hit by the coronavirus crisis. Now, the center is feeding 500 families a week. At the main center and three other satellite campuses around Indianapolis, church officials have delivered food to 60 households, and received nearly 200 calls on its hotline for assistance in the past week.
"Every challenge brings opportunities, and that’s what we’re seeing here. We’re having the opportunity through our IMPACT Center to have a physical impact on people by providing them with food, and the opportunity to make a spiritual impact on them as well. And one isn’t greater than the other," Philbeck said.
Johnson and his family have witnessed firsthand how the IMPACT Center has affected the community. They attend Mount Pleasant, and have been active in the different ministries over the years.
But the current crisis required something more. He started Smokehouse catering in 2018, after stepping away from another business he founded, Johnson’s BBQ Shack in Bargersville.
Smokehouse has been busy helping people since the coronavirus crisis started, regularly providing meals to firefighters, police officers and other first responders, medical personnel and other essential workers who are putting their lives at risk to help others.
He is a retired law enforcement officer, and his wife is a nurse practitioner, so he knows how hard those people are working.
But he also wanted to do something for people who were already in need and find themselves further taxed by the crisis.
"With this situation, a lot of people are utilizing that food pantry there. Maybe it was something they were thinking about, maybe it wasn’t. For some people, a traditional Easter meal isn’t really high on their list of priorities," Johnson said. "But we thought this would be a great chance to get that to folks who were (already) there picking up food from the pantry."
Smokehouse, like all businesses, has felt the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Its spring and summer calendar was filled with events the company was supposed to cater, but that have been canceled.
Still, he understands other people are struggling even more.
"We felt it was important to get out and do this for some folks," Johnson said. "It’s kind of our tithing to the church, too, in a roundabout way."
