B.O.B.S., or Breakfast on Beech Street, will begin serving sit-down hot meals again beginning Monday, July 19.

Since the onset of COVID in 2020, service at B.O.B.S. had been limited to take-out meals that included breakfast bars, bottled juice, and coffee, plus a sandwich and fruit for lunch. Beginning July 19, the traditional hot breakfasts will return, plus the sandwich bags, which always include a scripture reading.

Steve Smith, chairman of the B.O.B.S. board, sent a letter to volunteers explaining the re-opening of the dining room and hot breakfast service. For Phase 1, only four chairs will be placed at each table. Masks will be optional but volunteers will be separated from guests by counters or tables.   

A container of sanitizing wipes will be placed on each table for cleaning. Prepackaged plastic ware, napkins, salt and pepper packets, syrup, hot sauce, butter, etc., will be used instead of common dispensers. Volunteers will serve each person by prefilling plates, cups and sacks and by placing the items on a counter or the table.

Cold cereal, a fixture in pre-COVID days, will not be served in the beginning. The only items available for takeout will be the sack lunch and coffee.

Smith’s email was signed, “Thank you for your service as we love our neighbors.”