Haywood Street Congregation Invites Community to Free Lunch Every Wednesday

“We Saved You a Seat,” a new campaign by Haywood Street, invites the wider public to the Downtown Welcome Table.

At this free weekly lunch, a diverse community—housed and unhoused, well-fed and under-fed—gathers together around a homemade meal. Partnering with culinary luminaries and local restaurateurs, the Asheville congregation and nonprofit believes its mission, “relationship, above all else,” happens most when blended neighbors share from the common loaf.

“Every Wednesday,” said founding pastor Rev. Brian Combs, “you’re invited to trespass the boundaries of ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Through the holy act of passing the plate, names are exchanged, estrangement is interrupted, the love language of food is communicated, and we’re all reminded of our sacred worth. Nothing is more transformative than eating together. And your presence is requested.”

The Downtown Welcome Table is held every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the nonprofit’s campus, 297 Haywood St. in downtown Asheville. Served family style, meals begin at designated seating times every half hour. Around tables set with flowers, cloth napkins and East Fork pottery, diners are invited to linger over the meal as in a nice restaurant or dinner at home. To participate, individuals stop by the on-site reservation booth to choose their mealtime for that day’s lunch. No advance reservations are required.

For more information about the Downtown Welcome Table, please visit haywoodstreet.org/downtown-welcome-table. Groups of six or more are welcome to attend with advance notice; or contact [email protected] or (828) 575-2477, ext. 301 to make arrangements for a group.

About Haywood Street Congregation

Haywood Street Congregation is a church and faith-based nonprofit located in Asheville, North Carolina. Haywood Street pursues its mission—“relationship, above all else”—in the context of programs that help address the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness or struggling in poverty.

Core programs include the Downtown Welcome Table, Mercy League, fresco, worship, and Haywood Street Respite, where unhoused individuals can stay on a short-term basis following a hospital stay. Through its sister nonprofit, Haywood Street Community Development, the organization is building the Lady Gloria Ridge Community, 41 deeply affordable apartments with construction to be complete in October 2025.

Learn more at haywoodstreet.org.