FedUp volunteers Phil Huhn and Barbara Steer work so seamlessly together that team leader Corey Fuller initially thought the two were married. | Photo: Mark Bialek
Each Wednesday, seventy-one-year-old Phil Huhn and seventy-two-year-old Barbara Steer volunteer at Liberty Plaza for FedUp (“Feed, Educate, Deliver”) Ministries. FedUp’s food truck is there weekly, offering a freshly made meal to anyone at no charge. Names are only asked for serving orders and/or dietary restrictions.
Steer is cheerfully taking orders for lunch, which varies depending on the day—past meals have included street tacos, smoked chicken sliders, wraps, and salads. Huhn is listening intently to a man rapidly firing off music trivia and statistics, later handing out cups of lavender lemonade. The two work so seamlessly together that Corey Fuller, kitchen team lead, says he had initially thought the two were married.
Huhn and Steer both began volunteering with FedUp in 2021. At that time, the truck was bringing meals to warming centers at the Delonis Center, Ypsilanti Freight House, and a rotating list of Ann Arbor churches. The FedUp truck now regularly visits Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti locations where low-income and homeless individuals can easily find them—Liberty Plaza, the Ypsi bus station, and Ypsilanti Farmers Market. FedUp has offices at Zion Lutheran Church and uses its kitchen to store supplies, prepare meals, and serve a Tuesday lunch.
Fuller says FedUp has up to twenty volunteers each week doing kitchen prep, cooking, baking, cleanup, inventory, and taking and delivering orders at the food truck, but is always looking for more. Morning and afternoon shifts are available, Monday through Thursday. He adds that FedUp is setting up mobile shower and laundry facilities and that the operation will need volunteers as well.
Homeless himself forty years ago, after two layoffs during the “double dip” recessions of the early 1980s, Huhn has a special affinity for those FedUp serves. Steer, like Huhn, has been volunteering with various groups since the 1970s. She says her spiritual foundation is one built on service.
“We can be self-absorbed when dealing with our issues, especially when older,” says Huhn. “I’m having aches and pains, and I’m out there [volunteering], keeping myself mentally and physically sharp. These people have a real need. Volunteering is therapeutic as far as I’m concerned.”
To volunteer with FedUp Ministries, visit fedupministries.org/get-involved/volunteer
