Cheboygan’s church-run lunch program serves about 1,000 meals a month and needs more hands

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. — A church-based charity in Cheboygan that puts out a free lunch every weekday says the line of people needing help keeps getting longer, and it is looking for volunteers to keep pace.

Cheboygan Compassionate Ministries served between 13,000 and 14,000 meals last year and expects about the same in 2026, Pastor Wynne Schott told WPBN/WGTU in a report that aired Oct. 6. That is roughly 1,000 to 1,400 meals a month, she said.

The ministry shares a building with the Cheboygan Church of the Nazarene at 674 Court St. Lunch is served at noon Monday through Friday, and free laundry is available by sign-up from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, according to the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce. Guests can also sign up for a weekly shower and a free haircut, the station reported.

Volunteers are wanted to cook, unload donations that arrive by the carload and help keep up the building, the ministry told the station.

The 6,000-square-foot building opened in November 2022. Before that, the church and the ministry worked out of the basement of an old Catholic church, the Cheboygan Daily Tribune reported at the time, and the move added showers. Co-pastor Jon Schott told the paper then that the ministry was seeing working people living in their cars as rents climbed, as well as seniors on fixed incomes.

The chamber lists the church and its kitchen at 231-627-1173.

Sources:
WPBN/WGTU (UpNorthLive), “Nonprofit Cheboygan Compassion Ministries seeks volunteers as demand for help rises,” Oct. 6, 2026, https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/nonprofit-cheboygan-compassion-ministries-seeks-volunteers-as-demand-for-help-rises
Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce, “Cheboygan Church of the Nazarene, The Lord’s Kitchen”, https://www.cheboygan.com/members/member/cheboygan-church-of-the-nazarene-the-lord-s-kitchen-413
Cheboygan Daily Tribune, “New building for Cheboygan Compassionate Ministries open and serving the community,” Nov. 18, 2022, https://www.cheboygannews.com/story/news/nonprofits/2022/11/18/new-building-for-cheboygan-compassionate-ministries-open-and-serving-the-community/69652015007/
Image: AI-generated illustration by The Mitten Daily.

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