TMCS program provides free meals in Tipp, Monroe Township

The Lunch On Us program is currently experiencing one of the busiest summer seasons in its fifteen-year history, providing an average of 700-800 meals per week for Tipp City and Monroe Township residents.

“It’s grown each year,” Kitchen Manager/Cook Renee Johnson said. “The first year, we gave away 800 lunches; last year, we gave away 8,500 lunches.”

“We do about 700 to 800 per week,” she said. “We usually do about 40 to 50 pick-ups. We send approximately 90 to the road daily; the Tipp Schools let us use a van, and we deliver to the areas of need.”

Lunches can be picked up at the Tipp City Global Methodist Church (TCGMC) on West Main Street and dropped off at several locations in Tipp City and Monroe Township. A full list of drop-off locations and approximate times can be found online at www.tmcomservices.com.

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Pick-Up Only:

Tipp City Global Methodist Church

8 W. Main St., Tipp City

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Monday-Friday

Delivery Locations:

Meadow Drive (off of Ginghamsburg Frederick Rd. - 11:00 a.m.

Tweed Woods Park (Sequoia Ct, between Larch St. and Banyon Tree Way - 11:15 a.m.

Elsa Court (off of Woodlawn) - 11:25 a.m.

Comanche Ln. and Cheyenne Place - 11:40 a.m.

Miles Ave. and Tippecanoe Dr. – 11:50 a.m.

Belview Ct. – Noon

Hathaway Park – 12:15 p.m.

All times are approximate

Watch for the “Lunch on Us” signs on the red or white marked van

Lunch On Us is organized by Tipp-Monroe Community Services, which started the program approximately fifteen years ago. The program provides free lunches daily each summer, starting approximately one week after school lets out and ending approximately one week before school starts in the fall.

The program is supported by donations from local businesses and organizations.

“We have no government or state funding,” Johnson said. “We do it all with donations and volunteers.”

“TCGMC is a big sponsor,” she said. “The church has always donated the use of the kitchen.”

Other sponsors include the Tipp City Needy Basket and Thrivent Financial-Matt Buehrer.

“We hold the annual purse auction yearly to raise money for the program,” Johnson said.

She said cash donations for the program can be made through Tipp-Monroe Community Services, and a list of other needed items is also posted online.

Johnson said the program is also in need of additional volunteers.

“We really have a very strong following of volunteers,” she said. “We have a lot of people who are here every week and a lot of people who are here two or three times a week.”

“We’ll need a few more this year,” she said.

The program operates for an average of nine weeks each summer, Johnson said, but is currently preparing to close down for the week of the Fourth of July holiday. The program will re-open on Monday, July 8.

She said recent renovations to the TCGMC parking lot have also caused the program to move its pick-up location from the front door to the back door this summer.

“It’s been a little weird this year, but we’re doing ok,” she said. “We’ve got signs all the way around the block, so people can see where to pick up.”