Area communities respond to hard times. (Columbus Journal, 2/7/2012)
Excerpt: Community meals have grown in popularity during recent, tough economic times. Sue and Mike Johnson of rural Reedsburg organized Reedsburg's Open Table Community meal in 2009. Sue Johnson said, "My husband Mike and I ran an ad to see if others felt that a community meal might help relieve hunger, and also build a deeper spirit of unity in the area."
About 12 people showed up in response to their ad. The Open Table Committee formed that night. They decided to put on a meal once a month. They settled on doing the meal during the weekend, when other agencies are often not operating. They hoped that area individuals, businesses, churches and groups would step up to sponsor a meal each month.
What a success! The first meal was served in June of 2009. Through the end of 2010 (18 months), Reedsburg's Open Table served 2,926 meals. In 2011, they served 2,248 meals. Meals like this give community members an opportunity to come together to support the needy in their areas.
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