Deacon Fred Bandas

"I didn't have anywhere to go, so I came here to Martha's Kitchen."

This quote in the Temple Daily Telegram from a resident of Temple's shelter for the homeless doubtless expresses the feelings of many of those who have passed through the doors of Martha's Kitchen and the Home of Hope over the past seven years. But the fact that those two facilities exist at all is thanks to the vision, dedication and determination of one man, Deacon Fred Bandas.

Since 1985, Martha's Kitchen has functioned as a place for the down- and-out to get a hot meal and to lay their heads at night. It's been a place which has allowed many to refocus their lives and progress to a better future.

On June 5, 1992, Bandas saw a major addition to the legacy of Martha's Kitchen become a reality with the dedication of the Home of Hope _ the old Scott and White building at 601 S. 7th St.

It is because of his dedication to Martha's Kitchen and the Home of Hope that Deacon Bandas is honored this year as the second recipient of the the Frank W. Mayborn Humanitarian Award.

Bandas, an ordained deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, is a native of Minnesota who came to Central Texas in 1948. After moving to Texas, the World War II U.S. Army Air Corps veteran founded Bandas Industries, a heavy construction company which still operates today.

It was later that Bandas working with the congregation of St. Mary's Catholic Church opened on Thanksgiving Day 1985 Martha's Kitchen to provide meals for those who would have otherwise gone hungry. The opening followed the purchase of a vacant building on West Avenue G. Soon after that Thanksgiving Day beginning, there were 5,500 meals a month being served at Martha's Kitchen. Within a year Martha's Kitchen was filling another need _ that of a shelter for the homeless.

The shelter grew, but so did the need and Bandas set his sights on another undertaking _ the Home of Hope.

Deacon Bandas spearheaded a $100,000 community drive to refur" bish the 168-room facility following its purchase for $10,000. Under his direction, the rehabilitation of the building took four years to complete. During this time, Deacon Bandas fought through two serious bouts of cancer yet never lost sight of his dream _ a permanent home for people who are homeless, hungry and oppressed.

According to Bill Jones, H. Ray Severn and Marvin Winkler in their letter nominating Deacon Bandas for the Frank W. Mayborn Humanitar" ian Award, ``During this last year, Martha's Kitchen and Shelter with the addition of the Home of Hope feeds over 300 meals daily and is the home for over 60 men, women and children for the night.

"In addition to these services, the shelter runs a store that provides clothing for over 550 people yearly at no cost and at a reduced price, clothing for hundreds more."

When Martha's Kitchen first opened in 1985 it was with the credo ``no questions'' of those being served. Deacon Bandas reaffirmed that guiding rule recently when he said, ``We feed them and shelter them, but let God do the judging. We don't care where they've been. Our only concern is where they're going.''

With this in mind all residents of Martha's Kitchen and the Home of Hope attend a spiritual outreach session each week.

But for Deacon Fred Bandas there is more to do. ``Feeding them, and sheltering them, and offering them spiritual outreach is the easy part. It's trying to motivate people that don't know what life offers ... trying to dispel this hopelessness is the hard part. The greatest poverty is the poverty of hope.''

And so it is that Deacon Fred Bandas using Martha's Kitchen and the Home of Hope will continue to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and bring hope to those who know none.

- - from award program Tuesday, November 17, 1992