Bye-bye fish fry? Not so fast

Guardian Angels in Oakdale has offered curbside pick-up as an option for its fish fries since 2017 — and, reportedly, they have gone swimmingly.

In 2020, its first of three fish fry dinners was offered curbside, sit-down or takeout, just as planned. But with COVID-19’s Minnesota debut last March, the second meal was curbside only, and the last one was canceled.

This year, curbside-only will be the system for Guardian Angels, which has a large kitchen area to work in and off-the-street parking where people can line up in their vehicles for one of its three fish fry events, starting Feb. 26.

Guardian Angels can make it work. The parish offered curbside pick-up to serve 364 chicken dinners this past fall, marking the first drive-through arrangement for that annual parish meal.

But as the coronavirus pandemic continues, not every parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis plans to offer a fish fry this year. At press time, of 109 parishes and service organizations contacted for The Catholic Spirit’s 2021 fish fry listing, at least 24 said they will offer one or more Lenten dinners this year. Twenty-six parishes said they decided not to hold one this year. For nearly 60 others, plans were still unclear.

Fish fries can be major fundraisers and they help build community, organizers said. They will be missed in parishes and communities across the archdiocese.

While Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis hadn’t decided whether to cancel its fish fries (by press time), it looked likely, said Mary Asp, parish administrator and chief of operations. Its last two fish fries in 2020 were canceled after the state’s March 25 stay-at-home order, she said.

And with no church parking lot, cars would need to line up on city streets if the parish tried curbside pick-up, which is far from ideal, Asp said. Inside space is small, too, she said. “Trying to be socially distanced in our kitchen alone doesn’t work.” That’s in addition to limiting seating, rotating diners in and out, keeping people 6 feet apart. “It doesn’t seem feasible,” she said.

“We’ll miss it,” Asp said, adding that Our Lady of Lourdes’ fish fries are more about fellowship than fundraising.

Guardian Angels’ previous curbside experience has helped, said Sharon Schwarz, the parish’s office human resources support, volunteer coordinator and special events ministry liaison. For example, to limit people in the kitchen, volunteers use the large social hall when packing orders. Members of one household staff each table, which are at least 6 feet apart. “Runners” pick up orders using a cart, with the cart itself helping keep a safe distance, Schwarz said. Learning from the fall’s chicken dinners, to avoid contact, runners place a box with food in a car’s trunk or back seat.

Proceeds from Guardian Angels’ fish fries are used to help maintain the parish’s homeless shelter, church and grounds.

And the dinners are quite an operation. Diners place their orders online and choose a 15-minute pick-up window so that orders can be delivered quickly to waiting cars. Patrons pull up during their reserved time slot, give the orderer’s name to an outside greeter who confirms the order, places a numbered sticker on the car window and radios information to a volunteer inside.

The volunteer writes the number on the family’s order ticket

and gives a runner the numbered ticket and food for delivery.

St. Pius V in Cannon Falls normally hosts a fish fry every Lenten Friday, with about 300 people at each dinner. Last year, it offered one and skipped one, before COVID-related restrictions on gatherings went into effect and ended the dinners for that year, said Patti Kocur, business administrator. This year, the parish will offer one fish dinner on Friday, Feb. 26. “If all goes well,” it might do so again March 26, Kocur said.

This year, the parish plans to use curbside pick-up for the first time. Diners will reserve their order for a 15-minute pick-up window. Volunteers will prepare the food in the church basement’s commercial kitchen. The parish supports small businesses by buying the Alaskan pollock, rolls and brownies from local businesses.

The fish fry is not a significant fundraiser, Kocur said. It’s more about “getting people together.” In the past, some proceeds were directed to confirmation students’ participation at Catholic HEART Workcamps, a mission trip. This year’s confirmation students asked that the money be given to a women’s shelter, Kocur said.

“The first thing we did (this year) was to see if we had the (needed) volunteers, and they were volunteering left and right,” she said.

The Church of St. Albert the Great in Minneapolis, on the other hand, decided not to offer a fish fry this year because of coronavirus concerns. “Our fish dinners are events — with music, bingo, raffles and lots of activity,” said Erin Sim, office manager. “We’ll wait until we can welcome folks back the way they expect to be welcomed.”

The fish fries are a major fundraiser, Sim said, but it’s “the fun aspect, the volunteering, the happy people that make the fish dinners what they are.” She expects that other fundraising will make up the difference from canceling the fish fries. Proceeds from all fundraisers are applied toward parish operating expenses.

Immaculate Conception in Lonsdale typically offers one fish fry during Lent, said parishioner Josh Rickert. “It’s a tradition and people love it,” he said, “and we wanted to fulfill that.” For simplicity, the parish will use curbside pick-up this year for its fish fry on the first Friday of Lent. Proceeds will go to local pro-life ministries.

Epiphany in Coon Rapids has offered sit-down fish dinners for more than 20 years, and about 600 people attended each week, said Rhonda Dillon, director of catering and hospitality. It served two weekly dinners last year before COVID-related restrictions took effect.

This year, Epiphany is switching to a “drive-through fish fry” every Friday in Lent. People will place their orders with volunteers on site. Kitchen staff will fill the orders and runners will deliver them to people waiting in their cars.

While it has been changed because of COVID-19 concerns, the new system is likely to take fewer volunteers compared with the parish’s sit-down dinners, said Jill Warren, volunteer coordinator for the fish fries. “We won’t need as many dishwashers or as many people … in the serving line,” she said.

And no need to set up and bus tables.

Proceeds will be used for needs such as helping families pay for faith formation and school tuition.

“I wouldn’t call it a major fundraiser,” Dillon said. “It … helps support our families. It’s probably more of a community outreach as … people from the community come in.”

Dillon said she is pleased that senior citizens on the Epiphany campus in assisted living and a senior high rise will be able to enjoy fish dinners during Lent. The parish will take their orders by 3 p.m. each Friday and deliver meals to the facilities. Some residents haven’t been able to have visitors, she said. Staff thanked her for bringing some normalcy, she said.

“The way we look at it, I think it helps renew a sense of community,” Dillon said.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how God uses us for this to continue — with something that is our Lenten tradition,” Warren said, “and we don’t want to … stop that.”