Eating For Charity
By Stephanie Toft
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - It’s a cool October afternoon in downtown Jacksonville.
Successfully weaving through the briskly-walking pedestrians and hectic lunch hour traffic is
surely an accomplishment to be proud of. Heading east on Church Street, the St. John’s
Cathedral comes into view. The church is beaming with an uncanny humble magnificence. It
looks perfect upon the autumn backdrop, as though it was specifically suited for the season.
People of all shapes and sizes are flowing into the heavy wooden double doors of the cathedral.
The weather is so beautiful it almost seems absurd to be indoors.
However, Clara’s at the Cathedral is not an event to miss.
The Clara White Mission culinary training program transforms the homeless into brilliant
chefs - into valued contributors of society. The luncheon is both a demonstration of their skills
and an opportunity to fundraise for the charity. Eating disguised as charity work? It’s a nobrainer.
The luncheon is held in the Cathedral’s historic Taliaferro hall, and for a small fee of $10
one can enjoy a delicious prepared buffet style meal. The shiny buffet gleams in the gentle
light, streaming in from the stained glass windows of the cathedral. Soft piano music creates an
elegant backdrop to a tasty meal. White bean and sausage soup steams alluringly. This is going
to take several trips.
Once seated at the large white-table clothed table, there are several opportunities to
chat with fellow do-gooders, a great portion of whom work in downtown Jacksonville. The
company is as stimulating as it is pleasant.
“I try to come here every Friday,” says Kathi Cooper of Family Promise of Jacksonville.
“The food is just so delicious. They really do a great job here.”
Scarfing down the tarragon cream chicken and home-style mashed potatoes is no
difficult task. After a final serving of applesauce cake and chocolate mousse it’s time for the
businesspeople of Jacksonville to head back to work.
After exiting the Cathedral with a couple of new business cards in hand, it’s time to
brave the traffic once again. With beef tips and mushroom mélange still on the brain, it won’t
be too straining of a decision to do some more ‘charity work’ next Friday.