Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press First Lady Michelle Obama served lunch at Miriams Kitchen in Washington on Thursday.The homeless men and women gathered at Miriam’s Kitchen as they often do on a Thursday for a cup a coffee, a hot meal, a hair cut and some help finding a job or a place to stay.
But on this day, they received an unexpected greeting from an unexpected visitor. First Lady Michelle Obama was in the kitchen, serving up mushroom risotto and a warm welcome.
“How are you doing?” Mrs. Obama asked the astonished patrons as they lined up for risotto, steamed broccoli, fruit salad and apple-carrot muffins. “My job here is to serve you.”
Miriam’s Kitchen was the latest stop on the first lady’s getting-to-know Washington tour.
“My purpose here is to listen, learn and scoop some risotto,’’ Mrs. Obama told the group of about 50 homeless men and women. She said she hoped her visit would also encourage Americans to volunteer
to help the needy during these difficult economic times.
“There is a moment in time when each and every one of us needs a helping hand,’’ Mrs. Obama said. She described Miriam’s Kitchen as “an example
of what we can do as a country and a community to help folks when they’re down.”
Miriam’s Kitchen provides homemade meals to 4,000 homeless people a year along with social service assistance, officials said. The soup kitchen, which serves breakfast every day and lunch once a week, does not use processed or canned foods. Instead, meals are prepared with fresh local and organic foods.
Employees at the White House donated eight crates of fresh fruit, including apples, bananas, pineapples and melons, said Scott Schenkelberg, executive director of Miriam’s Kitchen. Some of that fruit was served in the fruit salad on Thursday.
“The cheapest food that you’re going to find is typically processed food, junk food,’’ said Mr. Schenkelberg said. “We could easily fill our menu with those items. We don’t think it’s in the best interest of our clients.’’
Many of the clients – who are overwhelmingly adult men – suffer from hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and cancer, he said. The soup kitchen is part of Western Presbyterian Church and was established 26 years ago. Mr. Schenkelberg said that the demand for services has been rising recently. The clients at the soup kitchen have typically been the long-time homeless. But now they are seeing an influx in people who have recently lost their homes.
The people who stopped in to eat on Thursday said they were stunned to see Mrs. Obama, who shook many hands in addition to serving food. George Rivera, 52, who found a job and a home with the help of the staff at Miriam’s Kitchen, could not stop smiling. “I never imagined this, not in 100 years,’’ he said.
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