Drive-thru chicken barbecue set at St. Timothy Lutheran Church

Story and Photo by Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

If you’d like to leave the cooking to someone else before the Buffalo Bills play a Thursday evening game against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 12, St. Timothy Lutheran Church has you covered. The church is planning to hold a drive-thru Chiavetta’s chicken barbecue from 3:30-6:30 p.m.

Not only can you get a complete chicken dinner, which includes half a chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, a roll and butter, you can also purchase baked good made by members of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.

“We’ll be bringing baked goods right out to cars so people can buy and take it home,” said Donna Yeager, who organized the event. “They don’t have to come in. Everything will be right in our carport area.”

This chicken barbecue is different than the springtime barbecue that benefits the child care center, Yeager explained. “We have the child care chicken barbecue in June. That’s much more involved. There’s a bounce house, there’s a basket raffle, face painting. This is purely just pick up and go.

“St. Tim’s is well known for their baked goods. We have that big Thanksgiving sprawl at the ecumenical service. We always have desserts. We’ll be bringing baked goods right out to cars so people can buy and take them home. They don’t have to come in. Everything will be right in our carport area.”

For people who are unable to come to the church to pick up food, there is the option of delivery.

Yeager emphasized the delivery will be offered to shut-ins, “people who don’t have access, who can’t do drive-thru. They can call, and we will deliver a dinner to them.”

Anyone who needs a meal delivered to them is asked to call 716-773-4400 to purchase a ticket no later than Sept. 5.

The money being raised from the chicken barbecue is going to the replacement of the parking lot, which gets a lot of use, explained Kim Yeager, communications director at St. Timothy.

“A lot of bikers actually park their cars here in a corner because the bike path starts down the street,” she said. “A lot of people drop off for the Hearts for the Homeless bin. We have people come here all the time for that. We have a lot of trucks that stop here. It’s an active parking lot. It’s mostly for us, but, outside of Tim Hortons, which is busy, it’s the only kind of big parking lot in this area.”

“We have the child care center and it gets a lot of use,” Donna Yeager said. “Twice a day, parents are coming in and dropping off (or picking up). Salt, wear and tear. It’s just a beginning. Parking lots are expensive so we’re just starting a fund.”

“Support local ministry. A parking lot is one of those things that everybody needs,” said the Rev. Adam Arends, pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.

Also, Kim Yeager pointed out the Grand Island Community Chorus rehearses at St. Timothy, and there are Boy Scout meetings at the church.

In addition to the fundraising for the replacement of the parking lot, St. Timothy is collecting baby supplies for Harvest House, which is located at 175 Jefferson Ave.

“We’re participating in the baby shower for Harvest House,” Arends said. “Harvest House is an organization in Buffalo that serves the eastside community, and they do a lot of different things: education, they have a dentist’s office and a clinic. They also collect diapers and other materials for young families with babies and kids. So, we’re collecting especially diapers, wipes, socks and anything else that would go with babies: car seats, strollers, that kind of thing. A number of Lutheran churches and other churches are participating as a way to support families. We know having a baby is expensive. There are a lot of things, like car seats, which are required, but they are also very expensive. So, we’re trying to find a way to help young families in our community.”

“They (Harvest House) said they had to turn several families away in the past couple of months,” Kim Yeager said. “They help up to 700 children a month, only people at or below the poverty line. There’s a lot of need for this. I think they’ve had it on the news, too, so people locally might be aware of it. They might not want to drive to Buffalo, so they can drop off here if they feel like it if they want to help.”

People can pay for their chicken barbecue with cash, a check or with a credit card. The cost of the meal is $15 for a cash or check payment or $15.60 with credit card, which covers the fees associated with credit card payments.

For more information or to preorder chicken dinners, call St. Timothy Lutheran Church at 716-773-4400.