By Linda Taaffe

Finger foods, fruit salads, ginger cookies and barbecue are just as much a part of the ministry as Bible studies at the Los Altos United Methodist Church.

It is one of the few local churches that operates a professional food services department dedicated to catering church and community events. It is part of the National Association of Church Food Service, an organization that provides certification.

Longtime church member Ellie Manser, who has been nurturing local souls with catered meals over the past 11 years as food service coordinator, says food can do wonders for one’s spiritual being. Her face is the one people see during some of the happiest and saddest moments in their lives.

“Food is a loving thing. It’s about socializing and bringing people together. That’s important. I don’t think anybody likes to eat alone,” Manser said. “I tell people I feed the body and our clergy feeds the soul. Whenever I serve anyone, I feel it’s a real responsibility to make sure the food is good. Whatever they eat becomes a part of them.”

Manser and volunteers from the church’s food ministry program called C.H.E.F.S.- Come Help Ellie Feed Souls - are responsible for catering about 12 events a month, in addition to Sunday coffees.

Events range from as little as a handful of people to as many as 350 for memorials, fund-raisers, weddings, luncheons, business meetings and all day seminars. Manser said about 75 percent of the events are church related, the remaining are for community groups. The church includes about 2,600 members but serves about 5,000 community members.

“I don’t sleep a whole lot some nights,” she said. “I’m busy thinking about the details.”

Manser said it’s all about organization and being able to juggle several events during the same time period. Sometimes she starts as much as a week ahead working on big events. At the start of this month, Manser said she had catered events for more than 1,000 people during a 12-day period.

Rev. Kristie Olah said food services is an integral part of the church’s “whole health ministry” to promote people’s mental and physical well-being. Kindness, sharing and health all evolve around food, she said.

“Our food business is more than just hospitality,” Olah said. “It’s part of the church’s commitment always to be available for the community for things. People come here and expect excellence in childcare to excellence in a cup of coffee. Good food is part of the services we provide … It’s a whole different way from doing a potluck.”

The church’s culinary focus isn’t unusual considering the church was founded on food, Olah said. The women’s club picked apricots from Los Altos Hills and sold them to raise money for the construction of the church in 1950, she said.

Today’s food operation is a little more sophisticated. Manser, a professional caterer and the former owner of a New England Bed & Breakfast, works in front of a 10-burner industrial stove in the church’s massive catering kitchen. She’s responsible for ordering supplies, talking with vendors, coordinating events and consulting with volunteers from other programs. She even set up a “food store” on the grounds where church groups may go for program supplies for coffees or small, uncatered events.

Manser said she never falls short of volunteers. The only requirement to work with Manser is to bring a smile.

Volunteer Dana Stern said catering provided her the opportunity to interface with the community.

“It’s really an effort of love to prepare food for other people,” she said. Stern also volunteers for the church’s Angels on Call program, which delivers food to residents who are recovering from illness or other hardships.

Manser doesn’t consider her position as just a job. She has been a church member for 17 years. She and her husband were married there.

“This is probably the best job in the world. I get to do cooking with people that I love in a place that I love. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do, and that’s the truth,” she said.

Olah said food is gaining greater significance in churches nationwide, even in the south, where food has always played a key role. Food is becoming more sophisticated and integrated into more events, she said. Some churches put together box lunches for as many as 1,500 people at one time, she added.

The Methodist Church seems to be in the front part of that trend - the community won’t find cafeteria-style food here, Olah said.