Couple help feed area's needy

CELINA - Pastor George Rowell of Mercer and Celina Mt. Zion United Methodist churches has added a new hat to his collection - baker.

Rowell and his wife, Linda, take CALL Food Pantry's surplus food and make it into tasty, healthy dishes and also can apple butter, marmalade and jams. The Rowells then take the prepared dishes and canned items to the pantry for distribution to its clients.

"The idea we have is to produce homemade food … with the stuff that CALL can't distribute and then we make it into something that they can distribute and it's very popular," George Rowell said. "Basically what happens with any food pantry, they have to take the food given (to them) by the stores. If they turn it down, the stores then go somewhere else."

George Rowell said grocery stores will give CALL produce and oftentimes, the food pantry can't donate it fast enough and it goes bad. The Rowells takes produce and other food items and make casseroles, pies and other fare CALL can then distribute to its clients.

"The idea is to give people healthy, homemade food rather than having to use fast food," George Rowell said.
  CALL contacted him in June and the dishes he and his wife made took off. Rowell named the program Feed My Sheep.

Rowell said the phrase "feed my sheep" is found in the Bible when Peter denies Jesus three times before the crucifixion.

"But then afterward, during the resurrection, Peter wanted Jesus to forgive him … for his denial," George Rowell said. "Jesus asked him three times (if) Peter loved him … and one of the times, (Jesus) said feed my sheep. This is a ministry of the church, feeding my sheep."

Rowell and his wife are no strangers to baking. Originally from England, George Rowell lived there with his wife for 20 years. After his mom died in 2016, the couple moved to his wife's native Mercer County to see their kids and grandkids more often.

Their recipes and knowledge come from experience.

While in England, the couple was part of a national cooperative for people who make food to sell.

"The requirements for that in England are quite strict," George Rowell said. "You've got to do certain things and you've got to comply with a lot of legislation in order to sell. We got involved in this and we're used to producing this sort of food and producing it in quantity and producing it so that it is tasty and nutritious."

They follow basic food hygiene standards to make sure everything is prepared properly and is refrigerated safely.

George Rowell wants to make sure that the food he makes is healthy and nutritious.

"Eating healthy is expensive, not just in Celina but really in the USA," he said. "I'm from England and although my wife is from this area, we lived in England for 20 years together. Food prices, eating healthy (in England) is a lot easier than it is eating here. Fruit and vegetables are a lot cheaper there than they are here. People who are on low incomes, I would find, could save an awful lot of money by making food themselves. We can provide ideas as to how to do that."

Rowell and his wife aren't compensated, but take donations of flour, sugar, milk, eggs and butter, items the pantry doesn't typically receive.

The ministry is looking for volunteers to help with the mission. Rowell said cooking skills are not required.

"What I've actually found out is that this is a problem (surplus food) that happens with not just CALL in Celina, but it happens with a lot of food pantries," Rowell said. "We're happy to open it up for other people to come in if they want to learn cooking skills. That's our ultimate goal."