Every Tuesday evening, something shifts at the Hixon Adult Shelter. As the sun lowers over White River Junction, the scent of a home-cooked meal begins to drift from the kitchen. Doors crack open, and soon, someone starts knocking: time for dinner.
Inside, Nelson and Jenn Lewis are stirring pots, plating food, and chatting with familiar faces. They’ve been doing this for six months, volunteering together to prepare weekly dinners for the Haven’s adult shelter guests. But to hear them tell it, it’s not really about them. It’s about the people they’ve come to know and care for.
“We came over to the Haven looking to volunteer and kind of tried to see what different places we could plug into,” Nelson says. “But one of the things we really wanted to do was be able to work together. So it’s a lot easier to do something in the evenings together… it’s much more enjoyable to go do it together.”
That shared time has blossomed into something deeply meaningful, not just for Nelson and Jenn, but for the shelter guests who now know them by name. On Tuesday nights, people light up when the Nelson and Jenn arrive. They’re greeted with waves, conversation, and without fail, a pot of coffee that one guest now brews each week just for Nelson.
The Hixon Shelter provides beds for up to 20 adults. For many guests, the experience of homelessness can come with long stretches of instability and isolation. But every Tuesday, dinner becomes a moment of connection. It feels closer to a neighborhood get-together than a shelter meal.
“It feels like a family dinner,” Jenn said during a recent visit.
Over time, those dinners have turned into relationships. “We’ve gotten to know people more since being here,” Jenn said. “So walking in and seeing folks we know out in the parking lot or like, being able to connect with people more on personal levels has been really cool.”
Volunteering for Jenn and Nelson is about more than preparing food. It’s about building community. It shows in the way guests eagerly greet them, and in the way conversations stretch well beyond the kitchen.
One evening, Nelson spent time talking with a guest about a book by Erik Larson. They weren’t just chatting about the plot. They were engaging like old friends, exchanging thoughts and insights about the story the way readers do when they trust each other.
That kind of bond doesn’t happen overnight. It comes from showing up week after week, with dinner, with conversation, and with care.
“I think for us, our kids are—one is in college, one’s in high school—but they’re both out of the house,” Jenn shared. “And we’ve always had community service as a really big part of our life and how we raised the kids, and it’s always just been a value of ours. So when our daughter went to college and we didn’t have anybody at home, we were like, well, maybe we could go do this.”
Nelson and Jenn even spent Christmas Eve at the shelter, bringing their kids along to help serve dinner before heading home for their own holiday traditions. “We really enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun. It’s great,” Jenn said.
“It’s probably the people,” Nelson said when asked what he enjoys most. “Everyone is super appreciative, just one of the highlights of the week and everyone is happy to see you, and they’re super happy to have someone to prepare it for them with a smile.”
Jenn agrees. “I like knowing that we’re meeting a tangible need, but it’s more than that. I love walking in and being able to see faces that we’ve worked with for months. We actually had the thought the other day that because this is the shelter, we could come next week and somebody could have moved out. We were saying how sad that would be, because we would miss them, and they’ve become our people. It would of course be very exciting as well to see a guest move into permanent housing.”
Nelson added, “For me, it’s the personal connection and connecting with people and actually seeing their faces light up when we walk in and our faces light up when we walk in and see them. It feels like our home away from home.”
The Haven makes volunteering easy to step into. “[Haven Director] Jennifer Fontaine gives us all the menus every week,” Jenn explained. “There’s all the food and everything is ready. The staff have been super kind.”
“All we have to do is show up and execute,” Nelson said. “It’s not a lot of planning on our part. Just come in, make some food, and then on you go.”
The ease of getting started and the sense of purpose they’ve found are what make them eager to spread the word. “It’s way more enjoyable than you think it will be,” Nelson said. “It’s one of the best parts of our week to come in and hang out with them.”
Jenn encourages others to try volunteering too. “If you would try one area of service and it doesn’t fit for you, they would gladly find a different place you could volunteer. I think it’s an awesome thing to do.”
Nelson had one last suggestion. “It’s also really fun to do with someone. So grab a friend, show up.”
Jenn sums it up clearly. “I think [the Haven] is a resource for anyone in need, whether you need shelter or need food from the pantry, or you need just a shoulder to lean on and somebody to listen. It meets a lot of people’s needs in many impactful ways.”
And Nelson, still impressed by what he saw during their first visit, reflected on another part of the Haven. “Their food market is amazing. We got a tour through the whole thing, and it’s a pretty, like, remarkable little small supermarket that you wouldn’t expect from the outside… now you just go, it’s like you’re shopping at the supermarket. It’s all there.”
Jenn added, “Like it’s not just the dented reject cans from the grocery store either. I mean, they have fresh made bread and muffins and fresh produce. I mean, it looks like you just walked into Hannaford, and it’s just a smaller version.”
But for all the impressive logistics and food, Nelson and Jenn keep coming back because of something simpler. A knock on the door. A warm plate of food. A name remembered. A smile returned.
One dinner at a time, they’re part of something deeply human. Something that feels a little bit like home.