Provision and Purpose: the gift of a meal

Offering someone a warm meal can bring about the unexpected. There’s something healing about the gift of food that kindles human connection and inspires the possibility of life beyond survival. Step inside UGM’s kitchens, simmering with holiday preparations, and hear from production chef, Michael, whose love for cooking is infused with a heart to help other men. But his journey at UGM began with discovering his own need for healing.

“I had never been to a homeless shelter before.” Michael Bajadali has a culinary background and was told by a good friend that there was an open chef position at Union Gospel Mission’s Men’s Shelter. “So, I interviewed for the job, got the job, and moved up here. Shortly after getting hired, my addictions, and different things that I’ve struggled with my entire life, kind of crept in.” Michael struggled with motivation. “I wasn’t driven for anything. I was drinking a lot.” Eventually, he decided to take advantage of the recovery program at UGM, postponing the job opportunity to find help and healing. 

The prep work

Unlike most rehabilitation centers, the program lasts 18-24 months and is completely free of charge. In addition to trauma-informed counseling, vocational assistance, and clean-and-sober recreation, the residential aspect fosters accountability and a tight-knit community. Individually, and yet together, residents pave a new way forward in life, reversing the harmful patterns that led them to their own proverbial rock bottom.

“I started to finally see change...
I never thought I could escape this.”

“I started to finally see change,” Michael remembers. “And that was invigorating. It was motivating. It was powerful. Because I never thought I could escape this.”

When he completed the program, he then became a certified peer support specialist, wanting to use his degree in Psychology to help others. Then the opportunity to work in the UGM Men’s Shelter kitchen arose once again. “I wanted to counsel people and help people who are struggling with different things in life or just having a hard time with addiction or mental illnesses. Working here at UGM, those are specifically the people that we work with every single day. It’s fantastic. It’s a hands-on experience where we work side by side teaching them new skills and how to build confidence in themselves. I get to see their lives change and get to cook which is something I love doing.”

In the kitchen, the heart of the home

But this isn’t your standard commercial kitchen. “UGM is definitely unique. Number one, all of our supplies are usually donated. We order some things that we need like spices and stuff like that, but most of our product is donated. We never really know what we are working with, so it’s always kind of a surprise.”

The ingredients aren’t the only unpredictable aspect of the job. Shelter guests are given a daily two-hour chore, many of which take place in the kitchen. But Michael appreciates rather than resists the uncertainty of each day. “You never know how long you have somebody. You have no idea what their stories are, but you get this cool dynamic of different wildflowers in your garden. They require different things. Some like lots of water, some like lots of sunlight, some like to be close to other flowers, some like to be distant from other flowers. That’s the beauty of God’s miracle, bringing all of those different things together and making them work. You get to see that happen here quite frequently. It’s not always a success story, but it’s beautiful to see people grow in confidence.

“You work side by side with them, encouraging them, teaching them things and letting them see that they can do more than what they thought they could.”

“Lots of guys come in here and they’re a little timid because they are battling things in their mind…A lot of them are reserved; held back in really being who God created them to be. You work side by side with them, encouraging them, teaching them things and letting them see that they can do more than what they thought they could. It’s really beautiful to just watch them grow.”

The miracle of a meal

With the holidays around the corner, Michael draws a correlation between the meals served at UGM and what you might find in a home-like setting. “Food always brings people together. On our big holidays, the whole family gets together and they eat together. What’s cool about it is that you get the dining experience, you get your belly full with warm, good comfort food. You are sitting with a bunch of different people and can interact, exchange stories, and get to know one another. It’s a real welcoming place.”

The gift of a meal—whether through financial provision, donated ingredients, or volunteered time—travels with purpose to cutting boards and stove tops, into the hands of men and women finding new confidence by working in the kitchen. Then eventually that gift becomes a warm meal for a hungry neighbor, possibly becoming the glimmer of hope they need for life change. It becomes a beautiful garland of compassion threaded from one human to another.

Play this short video and hear directly from Michael in the kitchen at our Men’s Shelter: