An Interview With Our Breakfast Team
Did you know Compass Point has partnered with several different local organizations to support them in their ongoing support for the local community? One such organization is Next Door Social Space which serves those living in difficult socioeconomic circumstances.
On Saturday mornings, their kitchen is open for breakfast and run by different teams from churches around Burlington. Compass Point is one such team.
Today we ask their team captain, Donna Leung about her experience and what they do:
Tell us a little bit about the breakfast that you serve?
Who can come and what can they expect?
The Next Door breakfast takes place every Saturday from 9-11 am at Next Door Social Space, 650 Plains Road East. It’s for everyone! Many of the people who attend live in the surrounding area and come to socialize with their friends and enjoy a low-cost meal. Others come to support the ministry of Next Door Social Space.
The meals are very fresh, made-to-order breakfast items. Menu items are all $2 or less.
How is Compass Point Involved? What role does the team play?
The Compass Point team serves one Saturday each month, generally the 3rd Saturday. There are great teams from other churches who serve the other weeks and we all follow the same procedures and menu.
We have the back of house team that prepares the meals and works in the kitchen and the front of house team that serves the food and interacts with the diners. Everyone helps with set up and clean up.
We have a fantastic team! It’s a lot of fun working together and at this point we’re a well-oiled machine.
What does a typical breakfast look like? What are some of the popular orders?
Generally, we serve between 20 – 30 plates at each breakfast. We often have a rush right at 9 am, and another at 10. The most popular order is the breakfast sandwich – egg, cheese, tomato and lettuce all on a toasted english muffin.
It’s delicious! Lots of people like to add bacon to make it even more special. We also have eggs done your way, pancakes and smoothies. All orders are served with a generous helping of fresh fruit salad.
What made you want to get involved? How long have you been serving breakfast?
I love working in a kitchen. And I love serving people and making them happy. I think all of our team members would say the same! It’s a really wonderful and practical way to show love to others. Next Door Social Space began these breakfasts in the fall of 2018. Our team has been involved right from the beginning!
What are your favourite things about serving this breakfast at Next Door?
Working with our team is really fantastic. It is such a caring group. We share our personal joys and challenges with each other and enjoy our time serving together. Many of the team members have served from the first breakfast! But perhaps the main highlight for our team is the interaction with our guests. We have gotten to know many by name and look forward to seeing them each month.
How can other people get involved?
Right now our team is at capacity, but we would love it if our Compass Point family could attend the breakfast! That would be a huge support not only to the teams who are serving, but also to the ministry of Next Door. And – you get to enjoy a really wonderful meal!
Not only does Next Door serve the Saturday breakfast, they also have programs throughout the week. There are opportunities to get involved with some of those. They also run the “Rolling Horse” bike shop, which is right next door. This is a great ministry providing low cost bikes and bike repair. If you have a bike you no longer need, you can donate it to Rolling Horse.
For more details, go to nextdoorsocialspace.com or rollinghorse.ca
Next Door Social Space
“As a ministry of ForestView Church we first opened our doors in 2012; an outgrowth of our work with the Compassion Society and Motel Ministry. Originally located alongside Compassion Society, in 2015 we relocated to our current site where we are excited to be a ‘next door’ neighbour to the Warwick Surrey community.
From the very beginning, we have proudly hosted Rolling Horse Community Cycle – Burlington’s not for profit bike shop. In Fall 2017 we expanded into the adjoining unit opening Next Door Kitchen – a space for learning healthy cooking and sharing healthy food with one another.”
