‘We come here to volunteer, and we are happy’: Matt Talbot helpers encourage others to join

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN)- The Matt Talbot Kitchen was filled with the aroma of authentic egg rolls and fried rice on Thursday, thanks to the group of volunteers preparing lunch.

They say what they prepare in the kitchen makes the guests happy, but also themselves.

Matt Talbot’s Executive Director, Alynn Sampson, says that due to a recent shift in needs, they need volunteers more than ever.

“This is the first time where we’ve had almost half of our meals that have needed coverage, that’s not happened in the past,” said Sampson.

“This is the second year that we’re experiencing kind of just a shift in our volunteers.”

She says this is due to some volunteer teams retiring, more people arriving for meals and higher costs.

“There’s a rise in food costs, obviously, and so all of these things have kind of happened all at once, and so we’re putting a call out to the community that we have open meals that we need to get covered,” said Sampson.

She says there are three ways people can get involved: sponsor a meal for $300, help prepare sides on site, or do it the original way.

“Our traditional way is to purchase, prepare and serve. That is how Matt Talbot was built,” said Sampson.

One group of volunteers in the kitchen on Thursday has been coming for 15 years.

They explained to Channel 8 that they prep some of the food days in advance, such as their highly sought-after egg rolls.

When volunteers purchase and prepare food themselves, it allows Matt Talbot to conserve resources for more housing outreach and case management.

Why do they do this?

“Most of us are Catholic, you know, and we just follow Jesus because Jesus teaches us to love everyone as he loves us,” said Vuong Nguyen.

“We come here from Vietnam, and we appreciate the United States, you know. We come as immigrants or refugees, and now we have an opportunity to pay back this country, to be American,” said Michael Tran.

“We appreciate it. For this country, America, we say thank you,” said Tran.

The group’s primary chef, Louann Cao, does the bulk of the cooking.

“We come here to volunteer, and we are happy, so I hope a lot of people will come to volunteer, and they will be happy like us,” said Cao.

She cooks and recruits, too.

“Louann invited me to come and serve with them today for the first time, and I enjoyed it here,” said Thomas Haberman.

Another volunteer in their group, Terri Tran, shares her reason for volunteering, too.

“Because this place is open daily, they always need volunteers,” said Tran.

Matt Talbot serves lunch daily from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and dinner is from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

For those looking to volunteer, they can visit Matt Talbot’s website here.