Ellen Burchell, 72, always desired a way to serve God’s will. The opportunity arose soon after her husband passed away in 1989. Frank Crotts, now 91 years old, approached the Burlington Assembly of God with the idea for a weekend kitchen to serve hot meals. Pastor Howard Thompson knew of Burchell’s wish and approached her with the concept.

“They gave us three months,” Burchell said. “We’ve lasted 16 years now.”

After recovering from breast cancer and suffering the loss of her husband, Burchell desired a project that would allow her to serve God by giving back to the

community. When Thompson approached her, Burchell was nervous.

“I could not cook,” she said, “I learned to cook at the kitchen.” Watching her husband cook at his restaurant helped her develop her own recipes.

But what to cook was the least of her problems in the beginning. Without government funding, the program had to rely purely on donations. In the long run, many churches and individuals donated either food or random items. The building and tables were provided by the Burlington Assembly of God and the stove was supplied by David Crotts.

The concept of the Caring Kitchen, located at 821 Tucker St. in Burlington, was initially discouraged because a prior attempt had only lasted three weeks. But Burchell took the project under her wing and was determined to make it work.

“I’ve always done anything I wanted to do, even when I thought I couldn’t do it,” Burchell said.

Burchell was fortunate to never have to beg for volunteers, as people have always been willing to help. Currently, she has nearly 100 volunteers, with 11 different churches that rotate through lunches. In 1994, Burchell and the Caring Kitchen were given the North Carolina State governor’s award for service to the community.

Today the kitchen serves about 110 to 140 meals on site throughout the weekend, plus approximately 85 meals that they deliver.

In addition to feeding the needy, Burchell and the many volunteers try to help the patrons on a more personal level, by offering or finding them one-on-one help.

“There is help and we show them how,” Burchell said.

The kitchen hasn’t been the easiest goal for Burchell to accomplish and she describes it as an ongoing battle at times. In moments of need, the media tends to aid her in finding volunteers or food donations. For now, the biggest issue is her health, as she is currently battling osteoporosis.

“My goal is to be here,” and Burchell rarely misses a weekend. Although she knows she will not be able to run the program forever, she is confident her successors will succeed in keeping the kitchen alive.

Reporter: Monica Salvo - Photos: Jess Frizen 04/05/07