In December 2025, volunteers prepare and plate meals for MEALS, Inc. Saturday Meals, which serves neighbors facing food insecurity in Bowling Green. COURTESY OF BILL OLDHAM
Feeding hungry neighbors in Bowling Green – together
BY JENNIFER BAILEY, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
In Bowling Green, hunger reaches older adults, working parents trying to stretch a paycheck, families with children, and neighbors with no paycheck at all. The response does not rest on one person or one ministry. It moves through a network of organizations whose stories intertwine each week through food, service, and compassion.
At Holy Spirit St. Vincent de Paul, Diane Ewan sees that need up close. As a translator at the pantry, she meets people from many backgrounds who come seeking food and relief. She spoke of working poor families, single mothers, young families, unhoused neighbors, and people facing hardship from every walk of life.
For Diane, the pantry offers more than groceries. It offers dignity, safety, and a place where people feel seen.
“They provide not only food, but a place where people feel safe, listened to, and recognized,” she said.
Her words point to the heart of this work. Hunger is about empty shelves and empty stomachs, but also fear, stress, transportation, language barriers, and the daily strain of trying to hold life together. Diane described families sharing one rented car for the day so they could visit the pantry, attend appointments, and handle errands. She said many people misunderstand hunger. In her experience, many neighbors seeking help are working hard and still struggling.
Volunteers bag bread and other donated items for MEALS, Inc. Saturday Meals recipients in Bowling Green in December 2025. COURTESY OF BILL OLDHAM
A few miles away, MEALS, Inc. meets hunger in a different way. Bill Oldham, past president of the organization and a leader in its Saturday Meals program, described a ministry built on care and consistency. Since 1992, Saturday Meals has delivered a hot meal every Saturday to neighbors in Bowling Green through volunteers alone.
“We have no paid staff,” Oldham said.
Twelve churches, including Holy Spirit and St. Joseph, along with one local business, rotate volunteers, kitchen help, and delivery drivers. Every Saturday morning, people show up early to cook, pack, and deliver meals. Oldham said the goal is to feed people and remind them they matter.
“I feel like we are sending a message that you are valued,” he said.
That same spirit is at the heart of St. Teresa Thrift Store and Ministries. Its mission is to support organizations that feed the hungry and care for neighbors in need.
In 2025, Holy Spirit St. Vincent de Paul, St. Joseph St. Vincent de Paul, and MEALS, Inc. together received more than $130,000 in grants from St. Teresa Thrift Store and Ministries. Holy Spirit International Outreach also helps feed neighbors by providing culturally familiar food staples for refugee families.
Together, these ministries serve neighbors facing hardship through food assistance and other basic support.
In Bowling Green, feeding the hungry is shared work. It moves through the volunteer packing a box, the driver delivering a meal, the donor dropping off goods, and the neighbor receiving help. In each place, the stories intertwine. When this work is done well, it tells every neighbor the same thing. You are seen. You matter.
You are not alone.
Learn more at www.stteresaministries.org.
Originally printed in the April 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
