Rarden is one of the small villages making up Scioto County. In fact, its last reported population was 146 and 566 for the township, in the last election, only around 225 voters were active. Outside of the Rarden Whitetail Deer Festival, the area stays pretty quiet in its beautiful corner of the county. That’s why it is shocking that over 100 individuals in that area visit the Rarden Daily Bread, daily, to commune with community and enjoy a free meal.

The Rarden Daily Bread is a soup kitchen founded and organized by Rarden Mayor Ron Syroney’s wife, Pam.

Recently, the group received a donation of five turkeys and Pam says she is planning on a big Christmas dinner for the community in need.

“It is important, because it is the birth of our Christ, and he is the one who provides. The people who come deserve a special meal, also,” Syroney said. “Like every day, it is a miracle. It is a miracle for us to get the food and have the opportunity to volunteer, just the same as it is a miracle for them to have a hot meal served.”

Thanksgiving went over well for the non-profit as they now look to Christmas.

“The support we received from the community for Thanksgiving was overwhelming and I am sure Christmas will be the same; people care about each other and whether or not they have the opportunity to receive a meal,” Syroney said.

Dinner will consist of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and stuffing.

While the Christmas dinner is set for Christmas Eve, the volunteers will not be taking a day off on December 25.

“We will also serve Christmas day, but it will be sandwiches, coleslaw, and stuff like that,” Syroney said.

The group began two weeks before closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 after Syroney claims she felt a call to action.

“This began, because I started having these dreams about children going hungry and I felt God was leading me in this direction,” Syroney recalled. “I told him to find someone else. However, one day, on my way to church, after not being able to sleep and rest, it came to me that there are a lot of little children who cry before they go to sleep, because they’re hungry. In one dream I kept having, parents were telling their children, ‘I’m sorry, but go to sleep and maybe we can find food tomorrow.’”

The Daily Bread has a few years under their belts now and feeds a meal seven days a week, even on holidays, weekends, and during inclement weather at the Anna Jean Gardner Senior Community Center, 1693 Main Street, between 4 and 5:30 p.m.

The group also sends meals to homebound individuals.

“Some people, on their way home from work or to church, will stop by and take meals to neighbors and the elderly,” Syroney said. “It takes a lot of volunteers to make this all happen, and I honestly can’t even tell you how many we have, because we do have people who will shuttle meals and I consider them a volunteer, too. They’re taking their own time and using their own gas to feed people. We have floater volunteers, four different shifts, and drivers; I always tell people that it takes a community.”

The founder says the feeling of service is great and it has had a massive impact on her.

“I probably feel better serving than they feel receiving the meal,” Syroney said. “I feel the people in that kitchen, doing the mission that we are doing, are greater blessed than those we serve.”

Currently, Daily Bread not only has daily operating expenses, but also a building fund for a new, permanent home. They have a remaining balance of just under $100,000. For those wishing to get them closer may donate to them at P.O. Box 3 in Rarden, Ohio

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.