Food by OhBuoyancy! is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Collard greens, mac 'n cheese and ham will be part of the dinner cooked by Dave Heide (right) through his Little John's Kitchens.
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday has always been about bringing people together — to commemorate Dr. King, to give back to the community, and to dream. Cruelly, COVID-19 distancing thwarts most attempts at these very things.
But the organizers of the Madison Community Meal in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were determined to bring people together in the time-honored tradition of sharing a meal. The event, new this year, is a collaboration between Overture Center and Madison’s Central Business Improvement District, but largely conceived by chef Dave Heide of Liliana’s and Little John’s Kitchens.
“We wanted to do something to honor Martin Luther King,” says Heide. “I’m used to bringing people together with food. Food is healing.”
The community meal, which will take place Jan. 18, was originally scheduled to take place on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. But the main site has been moved to the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County's Allied Family Center (4619 Jenewein Road., Fitchburg) because of the threat of protests downtown over the upcoming inauguration of Joe Biden; the meal will be available noon to 5 p.m.
Additionally, satellite pickup sites are Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St. (11 a.m.-2 p.m.), and East Madison Community Center, 8 Straubel Court (noon-3 p.m.). Feeding the Youth, Black Men Coalition of Dane County, Greater Madison Resource Center and the Boys and Girls Club will help deliver meals to people who are homeless.
There are three ordering options for the meals, which must be ordered in advance online: Buy a meal for yourself and/or your family for $5 each; buy a “pay-it-forward” meal for someone else for $5; or order a meal you need, but can’t pay for.
“We wanted this meal to be accessible to everyone.” says Heide. “The whole point is that people are sharing the same food.” The goal is to serve 2,500 meals.
Heide’s menu is ham, black-eyed peas, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese, comfort food with a Southern bent. Meals will come prepared and ready to reheat; a limited number of hot, ready-to-eat meals will be available for those who do not have kitchen facilities for re-heating. Vegetarian and gluten-free meals are available, if requested upon ordering.
“It’s all made from scratch with love,” says Heide. His Little John’s Kitchens — a nonprofit working to make healthy food available to all — has been cooking meals for the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County throughout the pandemic. Heide says he’s been inspired by José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, which has fed people during natural disasters and the pandemic.
To provide an additional element of inspiration and community, a large-screen television at the Allied Family Center will show King’s speeches. It will be visible from the two drive-through lines and the walk-up pickup window, helping people “re-engage,” says Heide, and “next year, we hope everyone will come and sit at the same table.”
But Heide says the idea to do something for Martin Luther King Jr. Day initially came from former Overture Foundation Board chair Betty Harris Custer.
Harris Custer says she started thinking about new ways to celebrate and honor Dr. King, concerned that both the state Capitol and the Overture Center — sites of Madison’s two King celebrations — are closed now. All commemorations were going virtual, and the annual MLK Free Community Dinner, sponsored by the King Coalition, was not taking place at all.
Harris Custer initially thought of a food drive, but Heide recommended a “real meal,” says Harris Custer. “It helps those who need it, and for those who aren’t in need, it will remind them of all the good work of Dr. King.” The dinner distribution is timed to end at 6 p.m. as the King Coalition livestream begins.
Downtown businesses and Madison’s Central Businesses Improvement District are helping to fundraise for the dinner though Jan. 17.
“There was not a lot of time to organize,” says Tiffany Kenney, executive director of Madison's Central Business Improvement District. Downtown businesses are offering shoppers the chance to donate $5 for a pay-it-forward meal by adding it to their bills at shops and restaurants.
Downtown businesses have been hurting due to COVID-19 restrictions and the domino effect of people not coming downtown for work or for shows at venues like the Overture Center, which has been closed since mid-March.
“Normally on Martin Luther King Day, people would come downtown for celebrations at the Capitol and Overture Center, and would go to shops and businesses as well,” says Kenney, who hopes that people remember the importance of shopping local and that the fundraising for the community meal is a win-win for businesses and the King Day event.
In addition to Overture Center for the Arts, Madison’s Central Business Improvement District, and Little John’s Kitchens, Custer Financial Services is also a sponsor of the event. The Overture Center will be tracking the funds raised by signs in its window over the course of the week.
“We are going to feed 2,500 people,” says Kenney.
Heide says that volunteers (socially distanced and masked) will come to his kitchen at Liliana’s Restaurant in Fitchburg all day Sunday, to help with cooking and packing. Volunteers will also help with distribution on Monday. Those wishing to volunteer can sign up at littlejohnsrestaurant.com/how-to-help.html.
[Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect a change in location for meal pickup.]
