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The Story
In the fall of 2023, the students of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Good Shepherd started doing something new: they dropped their books, put on aprons, and began preparing homecooked free meals for their student peers. The LCM Student Community Meal was born and continued weekly for the 2023-2024 academic year, with an average of 6 -12 students cooking weekly for 25 - 45 other students who showed up for the company and the food.
The Opportunity
Now, with the success of the meal, LCM is confronted with the need to make necessary updates to our kitchen space in order to comply with Michigan State health department codes and standards. There is good news! With the generosity of National Lutheran Campus Ministry, these updates will be possible through a matching grant. LCM at Good Shepherd is seeking to raise $20,000 towards that effort by July of 2024.
Student Testimonials
“It has been very nice not having to worry about making dinner once a week. As I go into the next semester, I will be running out of money for rent and other things, so I will probably be coming consistently to these meals.”
“It is an amazing way to connect with other tech students and enjoy a meal together!”
“These meals take a stress of my plate(literally) to have a place to eat and hang out without financial or social worries. Everyone is so friendly and it gives a good chance to volunteer.”
“It’s a sense of community and makes my day so much better. I love what they do for our community:)”
“The volunteers are so welcoming! As is everyone else who is eating! And then there’s the food, it is so delicious! I love the variety of meals and they are always so unique and something I wouldn’t cook for myself. I am so fortunate to have this opportunity to attend the Community Meal with my friends as well as meet new friends and members within the community as I go to college here. I would like to say thank you to Good Shepard Lutheran Church and all the volunteers who help to make this weekly meal a success and for welcoming me!”
Update: The Meal is Back!
Update: The Meal is Back!
In the Spring of 2025, Good Shepherd/Lutheran Campus Ministry's kitchen became fully licensed and in the fall of 2025 students resumed cooking meals for and with one another. During our first year back in operation, the Tuesday Community Meal at Good Shepherd saw:
8 -15 students volunteering to cook each week for a 45 of their peers
88 different students showing up to help out across the year.
309 unique students eating at the meal at least once.
1,358 free meals served on Tuesday nights!
The Student Community Meal is made possible only through donations of time and resources. THANK YOU for the ways you support building community in this weekly meal.
IF you are a MTU student, join us any Tuesday night!
Show up at 5 p.m. if you'd like to help cook. 6:30 p.m. to eat.
All are welcome. All are invited!
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