Matt Armstrong, Spencer Roorda and Colton Talbert serve dinner to Hope Café residents. (Bryan Stanford photo)

by Bryan Stanford

The Montezuma boys' varsity basketball team fed people at a homeless shelter in Des Moines on  Monday, Nov. 8. 

Team members Spencer Roorda, Bryan Stanford, Kirk Salnave, Garrett VanMaanen, Colton Talbert, Nathan Wheeler, Matt Armstrong, Brady Losure with help from Coach Derek Schulte and assistant coach  Dale DeJong served food and washed dishes at the Hope Café in the Bethel Mission of Hope Ministries, a privately funded organization that seeks private donations without any type of government funding. 

The basketball players split into two groups; one group took a tour of the mission while the other group served food and washed dishes. After the first group finished their tour, they served food while the other group took the tour. 

The mission first serves food for the 85 residents at 5 p.m. After each resident has eaten, then the mission feeds walk-ins. 

The mission is the first step in a long-term recovery and aftercare program available to the residents. The first step lasts 30 days; after that, all residents graduate to the second step in the program that lasts 12 months.

Last year the Braves and the BGM Bears completed a joint project, as they put on Hot Cakes for Haiti, to help the Haitians after the devastating earthquake.