"Food hugs" are feeding bodies and nurturing souls

DAYTON-What began as a way to sell some extra lasagna has become an ongoing labor of love for Weinhard Café owner Mandi Wendt, and a blessing to the recipients of her generosity.

Every Friday, for the past several years, Wendt has been preparing take-and-bake meals for sale. This idea was created in 2017 when Wendt made too much lasagna for a fundraiser in memory of an employee who had recently passed away.

"Not knowing how many people to expect, I made about 20 too many lasagnas. I didn't want the already prepped ingredients to go to waste, so we bought some aluminum pans and said, well, if it doesn't sell, we will have a full lasagna freezer."

The extra meals were offered on Facebook, and to Wendt's surprise, they sold out within an hour. Thus, the Weinhard Café was launched into the Friday takeand-bake business.

When indoor dining closed in March because of the COVID-19 shutdown, Wendt had to furlough four employees, and she was pretty anxious about the restaurant's future.

She was able to switch gears, thanks to the take and bake meals.

"We had disposable pans, and some recipes already worked out, and put the menu into place for the first week, with the hopes of maybe selling 20 meals for the entire week," said Wendt.

"The community blew me away with their response."

Wendt was selling 20 meals a day and could barely keep up with demand, and she was able to bring her employees back to work.

Then she reached out to Vicki Zoller, Administrator of the All Things Dayton Facebook page, for help in getting community members to nominate people in need to receive cost-free family-style meals.

Wendt said she was a little worried about simply giving food away, given the current economic climate; however, the thought of families who may be in need bothered her more.

She said Zoller accepted the request and began organizing the effort.

After the first few months, she said it became harder to identify people in need, and it was decided to cast the net more widely.

Small business owners, school district staff, hospital employees, and many others, have been recipients of Wendt's generosity.

Carol Anderson received a "food hug" from the cafe shortly after her husband passed away in February, she said it gave her a warm feeling to think somebody cared.

Jennifer Lingo, a swing shift charge nurse in the Booker Rest Home, was also a recipient of Wendt's generosity when she and other Booker Rest Home staff received "food hugs" at the end of July.

"Having a food and beverage background, I was blown away and deeply touched by such a large undertaking and immense gift. This community is so amazing, and it only makes me want to give back more," Lingo said

To date, Wendt has donated 70 take-and-bake meals with money from her own pocket. She has been able to provide many more meals thanks to individual donations and a grant from the Dayton-Columbia County Fund.

The Dayton-Columbia County Fund (DCCF) joined Wendt's efforts early on, with a grant for $7,000 so that four restaurants; Chief Springs Fire and Irons, My Dad's Place, Fiesta En Jalisco, and the Weinhard Café could provide 40 family-style meals, each week, to people in need.

Although the funds from the DCCF grant has been dispersed, Wendt is still accepting individual donations with the following pledge:

"If they give $100, I will add $100 on top of that," she said.

Donations can be dropped off at the café at 258 East Main Street.