Russ’ Kitchen Provides a New Opportunity for Community Volunteers

The Amen House is a well-known food pantry for Scott County residents that are experiencing food insecurity. The mission for The Amen House is to help end hunger in Scott County, which requires hundreds of volunteer hours each month. On November 6th, 2025, The Amen House expanded their efforts to prevent hunger by opening a soup kitchen called Russ’ Kitchen to help provide hot meals five days a week. 

The kitchen is dedicated to the memory of 12 year old Russ Bourget, who had died in a UTV accident in July, 2024. Since Bourget was a young boy that wanted to help his community, and his family decided to raise money to support The Amen House.  The Bourget family, with the help of the community, raised close to $20,000 which helped to finance the construction of the building that houses Russ’ Kitchen, as well as the tables and chairs within it. 

Amanda Thomas has served as the chef for Russ’ Kitchen since January of 2026. She said, “I was interested because it was something to give back to the community and fulfill my heart. It wasn’t about the money or the title, it was about giving back to the people,” said Thomas.

The meals are offered to anyone in the community at no charge, and the number of meals served each day has been steady. Thomas says “About 50 meals are served daily for lunch and dinner.” Recent meals have included chicken salad plates, chicken noodle soup, and roast and potatoes.  A kid’s option is also available each day, and is often cheese pizza.  

The meals served at the kitchen are free to any individual, although customers are welcome to leave a donation.  Amen House’s Executive Director Michele Carlisle explained that the food served in the kitchen comes from a variety of sources.  “We are connected to government feeding programs that help a ton, and having the county food pantry next door allows Chef Amanda to go get the food she needs.” 

It’s also important to Carlisle and Thomas that the program is efficient.  Thomas said, “The meals normally go off of the food that was made from the day before, so we can persevere as much food as possible.” 

As the kitchen becomes more well-known around Scott County, more goals are being made. Carlisle said, “I would love to see the number we are serving to go up.” 

Looking toward the future, Thomas also hopes the kitchen can improve the meals being served. She said her goal is to “be more consistent and serve higher quality food, and to also have more farm fresh to use in the kitchen.” 

While Thomas has to rely on available ingredients to plan the meals that are served in Russ’ Kitchen, she does have a few favorite dishes of her own that she prepares for her customers. “My favorite meal to cook there is anything authentic Mexican. Sometimes during the colder months, it’s hard to get all the ingredients necessary for Mexican food, but recently I have been able to make street tacos and have received mangoes for salsa and cilantro and avocados for guacamole.”

The GCHS community can help support the work in Russ’ Kitchen by volunteering.  Linda Perkins is the volunteer coordinator for the Amen House’s network.   Perkins said, “More volunteers are needed daily With the addition of an evening meal 4 nights a week, our volunteer needs have doubled. Volunteer applications can be submitted at http://www.amenhouse.org/volunteer. In addition to volunteering, community members can support the Amen House through financial donations, donations to the Thrift Store, and by praying for our cause.”

Russ’ Kitchen is located at 533 East Washington Street in Georgetown.  The kitchen serves lunch from 1:00 – 2:00 PM Monday through Friday.  The evening meal is served 5:30 – 6:30 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday. There is currently no evening meal on Thursday due to distributions at the food pantry adjacent to the kitchen.  To find out more information about the other ways The Amen House serves the community, visit https://www.amenhouse.org/russ-kitchen.