‘Second Plate’ hunger initiative continues
W. Dale Stewart
A grassroots initiative launched in Maryville and designed to encourage financial donations by churches, organizations and individuals on behalf of food pantries and other nutritional support programs is gaining traction in several states.
The Rev. W. Dale Stewart, retired pastor of the First Christian Church of Maryville, said Tuesday that his “Second Plate” ministry has received positive responses and pledges of support from people in communities dotting Missouri, Kansas, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
In addition to the asecondplate.com website, Stewart has been working to spread the word about the program through presentations before area service clubs, churches and other groups.
Earlier this year, First Christian adopted Second Plate as one of its Lenten ministries, an effort that raised about $1,600 over six weeks, money that was distributed to various hunger-fighting organizations, including the local Nodaway County Ministry Center food pantry.
In practice, Second Plate is not so much a formally organized charity as a concept. There is no board of directors, no budget, no staff and no offices.
There is only the website and Stewart’s notion that significant strides could be made in the fight against hunger worldwide if families and individuals would simply add a symbolic place setting or mentally purchase a “second plate” whenever they prepare a meal or eat out.
The image of a second plate, Stewart says, stands for a commitment he wants people to make to keeping track of how much they spend dining out or buying groceries, so that at the end of the month they can donate an amount equivalent to an extra portion added to restaurant purchases or meals cooked at home.
He suggests that donors send the money they set aside to the nutrition-assistance program of their choice but declines to recommend specific charities, saying such decisions should be left to the individual or family doing the giving.
Stewart isn’t keeping track of donations or the names of people and groups who have agreed to participate, but he said there has been a stream of positive response to both the website and his personal appearances.
“What people often say is, ‘That’s such a simple idea. We can do that,’” Stewart said, adding that participants seem to be applying the Second Plate principal in a number of creative ways.
One woman told Stewart that her family frequently goes on picnics and has started setting out a symbolic plate and figuring the cost of filling it during each of those gatherings.
In creating content for the Second Plate website last winter, Stewart did some research into just what kind of money buying a “second plate” might generate.
He found that Americans spend an estimated $392 billion annually eating in restaurants, and that the average American spends $1,200 a year on fast food alone.
Stewart also dug up some average costs per meal at popular chain eateries, which are listed on the website as follows: McDonalds, $7.06; Taco Bell, $7.15; and Burger King $7.56. He added that the cost of a single meal at an upscale sit-down restaurant usually comes to a little more than $28.
In retirement, Stewart continues to speak and write on various topics following a three-decade career in ministry that included stops in Missouri, Alabama, Ohio and Texas.
An ordained minister within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Stewart has also worked as a police detective, mediator and consultant. He holds degrees from Phillips University and the Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University.
