Community Table is based on the Christian philosophies of “feed the hungry” and “love thy neighbor” and has proved more successful than we could have hoped for.

The Community Table

Community Table is one of First Presbyterian Church’s most visible and successful outreach programs. Seven churches and three service organizations combine to serve all the people of the area. Community Table was started in May of 2007 and served meals every Tuesday. By 2010, Community Table was providing over 12,000 dinners annually, averaging 250-300 meals some weeks. This enormous response led the First Presbyterian Church in 2008 to modernize and upgrade their kitchen. This upgrade was completed in 2008.

Community Table is not a soup kitchen serving the underprivileged, but rather a social event where all who come are treated as guests (or neighbors) in our home. Diners from all sectors of the community are served from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. at no cost by friendly local people who care about them, no matter who they are. Most importantly, no one is turned away. There is no screening, no judgement of any kind.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Community Table lost a major portion of its diners. Consequently, the days meals are served was reduced to the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Only major disasters like Hurricane Harvey, the pandemic, and the flood in 2021 have interrupted Community Table’s service. In the last year the number of diners served has been steadily increasing and the hope is that in the near future service can be restored to every Tuesday evening.