Nashville, TN

This weekend a good friend of mine got married. As one of the cake servers at the reception, I also helped prepare the food, and clean up afterwards. We had tons of food! Enough for 500 maybe. And I think only about half that showed up. So suffice it to say, we had a few leftovers. We had leftovers of things I didn’t even know we had served. And by the looks of all these leftovers, you’d think we hadn’t served them at all! I’m talking mostly about meatballs. But there was a few bags of vegetables (because honestly, nobody really eats the vegetable trays, do they?) There was also about 4 large zip lock bags full of mini quiches, a couple of sandwich trays, and cake FOR DAYS. Oh, and we also had some leftover cake. Did I already say that? That’s because we had so much I am compelled to say it twice.
The groom’s cake was a two-tier round chocolate cake with chocolate fudge icing and chocolate-dipped strawberries rounding the edges. There was also two full sheet cakes (both chocolate) waiting in the wings in anticipation of being seconds…and thirds…and I guess fourths. And this is JUST the groom’s cake I’m talking about. I haven’t GOTTEN to the white wedding cake, which, now that I’ve mentioned it, was seven tiers in the round. Of the groom’s cake, we served the two tiers with strawberries and never even touched the reserves. Of the wedding cake, we served five tiers and had the entire bottom tier leftover untouched (the top tier of course was preserved for the bride and groom - in case you were counting). Friends, there was a lot of cake served at this reception, but I think we had more leftover.
I relay all this leftover-speak to you for one reason: what do you do with this much leftover food?
Well, you could throw it away. That is certainly the easiest thing to do by far. OR, you can pack it all up, put it in your car, and haul it out to the mission. When you’ve just cleaned up an enormous wedding reception, held in your church building, thrown for friends you worship with and serve with, it seems the most obvious and effectual thing to do, is feed the hungry.
It always amazes me how much I have, and how many material blessings surround me and everyone I love. I far too easily forget that just a few streets down are people that haven’t eaten in days, haven’t showered in weeks, and haven’t worked in months. Without indulging the pros and cons of social welfare and the politics thereof, I will instead use this opportunity to say that there ARE people out there who need help. They need to be fed, and taught, and clothed, and cleaned, and given another chance. That’s what our Nashville Rescue Mission does.
Regardless of my charity, or my political stance, or my personal awareness or discomfort with homelessness, our city’s rescue mission is putting a dent in this problem. And they just happen to accept help where ever they can find it.
So I was happy to haul all that food out to the mission yesterday. We had a wonderful time celebrating the love of these two dear friends, and it seems fitting that some of that celebration could be shared with those who, at the moment, have less to celebrate.

The Nashville Rescue Mission is located in downtown Nashville at 639 Lafayette. Their donation drop-off is open every day from 7am to 7pm.
You can’t miss it. They are the large building with the big red heart and cross glowing in the night.