About Us

What We Do

We serve a free meal every Sunday that puts “love your neighbor” into action by offering hospitality and a home-cooked dinner to underserved families and individuals who may not get much of either. Guests dine in a setting that makes them feel valued and respected. Volunteers enjoy the satisfaction created by reaching out to serve neighbors in need. We describe our vision as Neighbor to Neighbor because we create a gathering space where neighbors from different social, economic, and racial groups can develop a stronger sense of community by becoming better acquainted.

Why We Do It

We sow seeds of faith by demonstrating God’s love in a practical way. We want our guests to know that they are expected when they arrive, accepted just as they are, and leave with a desire to become connected with a community of people who practice compassion for others. We believe that God loves with extravagance, so we go out of our way to deliver hospitality that reflects His extravagant grace.

How We Do It

We serve our meals in a historic home that is attractively decorated to celebrate the history, culture, and diversity of our community. Guests are greeted and seated by a host, served at their table on China plates with stainless tableware and real glasses, offered unlimited servings, bid a personal farewell as they depart, and invited to come again. We coach our volunteers to be attentive and friendly. A designated volunteer circulates among guests while they dine, asks how they are doing, and inquires whether they would like prayers for their needs.

Where We Do It

We serve our meals in Walker House at 724 Walnut Street in Murphysboro Illinois. Our facility includes a licensed kitchen, a parlor with accommodations for as many as 16 people, a dining area with seating for 54 people, and off-street parking for 18 vehicles. This historic Murphysboro home was built in 1882 by local businessman James Walker. The current owners converted the property to provide a facility for charitable outreach. They pay for all decorative furnishings and lease the facility to 724 Ministries for an amount that covers annual real estate taxes. 724 Ministries pays the cost of delivering its programs and for maintaining, equipping, insuring, or modifying the portion of the facility used for outreach.

Impact on Guests

We served 5,032 meals to an average of 106 guests per week during 49 Sundays in 2025 and 5,568 meals to an average of 107 guests per week during 52 Sundays in 2024. We estimate that about 400 different people join us for dinner each year. Nine of ten guests live in households with income below the Federal poverty level, one in four is under the age of 18, and almost one in three is a member of our minority community. We see familiar faces week after week. Guests tell us that they enjoy the comfortable surroundings, our inclusive environment, and the service they receive from our friendly volunteers. They look forward to coming, and they tend to leave with a smile on their face.

Impact on Volunteers

We try to maximize the number of people who get the opportunity to help serve our meals. Teams of 16 volunteers come together to serve and clean up after each meal. A total of 429 different volunteers helped serve our meals during 2025, and 515 different volunteers helped serve during 2024. Almost all volunteers want to come back and serve again. Churches from our community assemble most of the volunteer teams; community service organizations and businesses provide the rest; most teams serve multiple times during the year. During 2025 there were only five Sundays when we put together a serving team that was not provided by another organization and only three Sundays during 2024.