Going Home to Free Meals at Glide As a Family

Monday evening was incredibly special for our family. We had the opportunity to take our sons to serve dinner to the homeless at a place that holds tremendous history for us.

When I was 21, I interned at Glide Memorial Church and Foundation in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. I had a Ford Foundation grant to conduct political science research on thriving, diverse communities. In my first week, one of the men who had recently come out of prison and worked security for Glide told me that if I wanted to understand how things really worked there, I should spend my time in the stockroom, working in the Free Meals program in the basement of Glide. Three months of working with the team in the stockroom was life-changing for me. I returned after college and had the honor of working for Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani, Glide’s founders, for five years.

When I was 25, a board member I admired very much, Dr. Phyllis Kaplan, came to my third-floor office and asked me if I was single. I confirmed that I was. Phyllis told me she wanted to introduce me to a wonderful Guatemalan young man she had known for twenty years. She said he was doing his master’s with a Fulbright Fellowship in Miami but would be coming to San Francisco for the summer. Phyllis said we might get married someday, so I was naturally curious.

A couple of months passed, and one day, I got a call from Curtis, one of the security team members at Glide’s front desk. Curtis said, “Hey Kris, there’s a guy here named Benito. I don’t know… should I let him up?” I said, “Yes!” I nervously greeted Benito at my office door and promptly took him down to the Free Meals program for a tour of the amazing program Glide ran, feeding the homeless hot meals three times a day. I was so proud to be a part of something special and loved that Benito was at ease with the people there.

On Monday, now ages 48 and 50, Benito and I took our sons, Oscar (16) and William (13), for a volunteer shift serving dinner at Glide. I greeted clients coming in from the cold, wet streets, received their tickets, and helped with the flow of the line. William handed each person their silverware and cup. Benito and Oscar served the plates with steaming meat on top of rice and a side of fresh fruit. It was as joyful and humbling an experience as I remember from nearly 30 years ago. We knew that each person coming in to eat had a unique story — something that led to the bruised eye and scratched cheeks, the sweet dog companion in their bag, or the way they had managed to pull an outfit together from garbage bags and twine. Many were in flip-flops on an extremely cold night. Some smiled back at us and made quick small talk. One older gentleman thanked me for smiling at him. Others kept their gaze on the ground, eager to move along and eat.

We were so happy to hear the questions and reflections our sons had on the drive home, and their eagerness to go back and do it again.

We all know that the fantastic team at Glide takes care of thousands of people each day with great talent, dedication, and teamwork and that we were complimentary to their efforts. James and “Double Double” made it all sing on Monday evening. But we all felt tremendous gratitude for the opportunity to step out of our comfort zones and connect with other souls working hard each day to move forward and eager for a meal, warmth, and simple human connection. May this Thanksgiving bring you warmth, gratitude, and the joy of sharing with others!