The Marian House, located off of Bijou Street in downtown Colorado Springs, serves meals from 10:30AM to 1:00PM every single day of the year.

Established in 1985, hungry, homeless, or those supported by welfare have come in every day for a fresh, nutritious, hot meal. Nearly 600 people show up every day and over 700 meals are served a day; people are free to keep getting food until time runs out. Now you might think; what kind of slop are these people being fed? Well that “slop” is the same food you and I would eat any day of the week. Whether it is grilled cheese, hot dogs, beef casserole, or soup, these people get the food they deserve. On top of that, they have fruit salad, chopped salad, potato chips, coffee, hot cocoa, milk, orange juice, and a variety of desserts all served by volunteers. Meals are different every day so there is more to mention than there is room in this article.

These people are well fed; there are bags of bagels, rolls, and bread piled high in the back that are free for the taking. Plus, the leftover food (there are always leftovers) is put on a cart and brought outside in bags or containers for people to take with them for a snack or for dinner.

I am not trying to discourage you from giving a homeless person money, but I will say this: if someone is holding up a sign saying they are starving and need money for food, point them in the direction of the Marian House. With that option, a person has enough food for two of their three meals in the day. After having personal experience of seeing all those people walk through the line, none of them appear to be starving, and all appear to be very well fed and nourished.

If you are interested in volunteering, just show up one day between 8:00AM and 1:00PM at the loading dock. Ask one of the security guards or managers about volunteering and see when they are available. If you feel uncomfortable about interacting with some of the people who come through, there is no reason to. They all are very grateful for your service and appreciate what you are doing for them. Others may seem a little angered, agitated, or out of it, but there is no need to worry; everyone leaves their disputes out on the streets because it is a one strike policy in this kitchen. So, why ruin a free meal every day over something silly? Even with the slight chance something does come up, the security guards will quickly end it.

There are job positions for everyone, similar to a ranking system. The veterans of the kitchen, or those who have served the longest, have their place on the serving line. Consequently, you probably won’t be serving soup or grilled cheeses during your first few visits, as these positions must be earned!

On your first day, you will have one of three jobs. First, being the worst, is a cleaner. You get the dirty dishes, scrape them into the trash, and then rub them with a bristled brush before handing them into the washroom. Cups with soup, coffee, milk, or other unknown liquids are poured into orange buckets. Once full, you hand it to the dishwashers where they pour it down an industrial sized garbage disposal. This is a two man job, so hopefully you won’t get it; but if you do, don’t let it ruin your experience. As Air Academy Junior John Author stated, “My first three times I was a cleaner. It was awful, but I got through it and now I’m serving hot cocoa and coffee behind the serving line.”

The second job you could get requires a little more walking. You get a wet rag and clean the tables after a person has finished eating. You check milk and juice jugs to see if they are empty, take unwanted dishes, and get to talk with some of the people.

Third, probably the best job you could get on your first day, the one I started with, is a runner. You help families and disabled people with their trays and help them to their seats. The best part about this is just talking with some of these people; some are odd, but some are kind of funny and will give you a good laugh. This job is the best when there are three runners as the workload is not as hefty, but it is still very fun.

Finally, there is the good feeling of service that you get once having worked. Sure, you may be doing it for six service hours, but you feel this feeling that is hard to explain. You feel happy that you are doing something aside from the normal wake up and eat waffles in front of the TV sort of deal. You aren’t serving them to make yourself feel better, it’s something better than that, and you truly have to experience it to know what this feeling really is. It’s quite rewarding and boosts your ego. So come on down any day of the week to the Marian House, because you might just find something that you might start doing for the rest of your life.