With unemployment rising and a record number of people either homeless or teetering on the brink of losing their homes, Many Meals of Camarillo is addressing and filling basic needs.

Patterned after a similar organization in Santa Paula, the outreach effort provides fresh, home-made meals to the area's growing number of needy. The non-profit, non-denominational organization supported by Catholic parishioners is now beginning its fifth month serving weekly dinners and providing a variety of resources to guests in the St. Mary Magdalen parish hall.

Inspired to begin an outreach after attending the Engaging Spirituality component of the JustFaith program of Catholic social teaching at their parishes, Barbara Vernon, of St. Mary Magdalen, and Pat Yost, of Blessed Junípero Serra, first visited the Catholic Worker home in Los Angeles. That experience, they said, affirmed their desire to feed and clothe the needy in their own neighborhood.

Cathy Brudnicki, executive director of the Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition, connected Vernon and Yost to Many Meals of Santa Paula to begin the process of creating the outreach. After working with the Santa Paula group, Yost and Vernon spent two months recruiting volunteers and locating food sources to launch Many Meals of Camarillo.

There are currently about 170 volunteers - servers, cooks, set-up and clean-up crews, and those who staff the various tables offering clothing, food and referral information to those in need. About 30 to 35 people are needed for each night.

"One of the comments we have heard from the beginning is how smooth everything runs," Vernon says. The reason, she explains, is that volunteers are each given a specific job to do and the large number of volunteers assures that everything gets covered.

Many Meals has also received generous donations. Local farms provide fresh vegetables and salad, regular donations of bread are provided by a bakery, and local restaurants supply rice, beans and pasta. A parish family prepares the vegetables, while others bring fruit, desserts and beverages.

"I think the people who are not going through rough times right now have great compassion and are more than willing to offer whatever they can to help those who are," Vernon explains. "This project is meeting needs."

Beyond providing food and a place to sit for a meal, Many Meals volunteers offer care and love that is evident in their preparation, set-up and serving of the dinners.

"We make sure the dining area is comfortable and welcoming, like it would be at home," explains Vernon. The dining tables are adorned with linen tablecloths and flowers, and guests are welcomed at the door with smiles. A "bounty table" in the dining room allows guests to pick up a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables to bring home.

When they began Many Meals of Camarillo, Yost and Vernon knew that the guests would need more than just a meal. When money is tight and times are tough, food is only one concern a family has.

"We try to help them in other ways by providing information and resources at a table with bilingual pamphlets and flyers for both community and county referrals," Vernon explains. A local registered nurse is often present to take blood pressures, and offers referrals if needed.

Yost says the guests are gracious and appreciative of the meal and fellowship. One of the regular dinner guests, Rosemary, shows her appreciation by sharing her talents as a clown with the children who are present. Wearing a costume that she made herself, she does face painting, stamping and balloon animals at no charge for children as an after-dinner treat. She says she gives back because she "enjoys seeing the children have fun."

More than 130 meals are served on an average Monday night, and Many Meals of Camarillo expects that number to increase as people struggle with unemployment and other hardships. Word is getting out through flyers distributed at schools, churches, food pantries, social agencies and laundromats.

A core group of volunteers from Padre Serra and St. Mary Magdalen run the week-to-week operations. Volunteers from five Protestant churches in Camarillo also participate, and it is expected that they will soon be paired or grouped together to begin serving meals on another night at another location.

"It takes time to recruit and organize groups for this kind of commitment," says Yost, a highly organized woman who handles the weekly menus and donations, and coordinates the scheduling of volunteers. "The goal is to keep growing this service in Camarillo."