On a recent morning at the Elders Kitchen, the lunch plan changed on the fly.
Tamale pie was on the menu. Ground meat was already sizzling. Then the crew realized they were short on cornmeal.
No drama followed.
Head Cook Marie Sanders announced they needed to adjust the plan. Johnathan Old Coyote Bagley suggested enchilada casseroles. Pivot made. Assistant Cook Kathy Pondelick kept moving on her kale salad. Nearby, Bagley’s young daughter, Alice, colored with crayons at her own little table and got ready for one of her favorite jobs — helping her dad pack milk for the lunch deliveries.
It was a small moment, but it said a lot about how the kitchen works.
People step in. Plans shift. The work gets done. And more often than not, it happens with family close at hand.
That spirit has helped carry the Elders Kitchen into a new chapter since the retirement of longtime head cook Eanie Abler, whose years of service helped make the program a beloved part of community life.
Today, the kitchen is evolving under Ablers’ two daughters Sanders and Pondelick, as well as assistant cook and delivery driver Old Coyote-Bagley. Nina Old Coyote, who supervises the kitchen staff as part of her broader work overseeing the social services team, is also regularly in the kitchen helping where needed.
Hearts of service Human Services
Director Nehreen Ayub said that kind of teamwork is at the heart of the program.
“They just come and want to serve the Elders,” Ayub said. “They want to provide a nurturing, warm meal, and they do it with so much love.”
Ayub said the team has also helped breathe new life into the dining room itself.
“There’s a different vibe to it now,” she said. “We’ve already seen more Elders come because it feels fresh.”
That sense of welcome runs deep here.
Sanders is no stranger to the kitchen. She first began helping her mother there in 1999, shortly after moving back to Washington with her children. Over the years, she worked as a back-up cook while Abler became closely identified with the kitchen and its meals.
Now, with her mother retired, Sanders has stepped into the lead role herself. Her sister, Pondelick, has also worked in and around the kitchen over the years and has now been there full time for six years.
“We just found that groove,” Pondelick said with a laugh.
That groove seems to be paying off.
Secret Recipes
Indeed, the lunch program has seen a noticeable increase in participation in recent months. Where the kitchen once might have served a small handful of dine-in eaters on top of meals sent out for delivery for homebound Elders, Sanders said these days it’s not uncommon to see more than 30 eager Elders coming into enjoy a meal.
And not just Elders. The dining room is open to anyone in the community.
The price helps too. Meals are free for Elders 55 years old and up. For everyone else, it’s $5 a plate. It’s easy to see why Elders Kitchen is considered one of the best lunch deals around. But price is only part of the appeal.
“Our secret recipe is our team. We have fun, we do team building days, work on art together,” said Sanders. “We enjoy each other and we put that love into our food. And it shows.”
The dining room itself is also undergoing evolution.
The buffet line, once tucked away in the middle storage area, has been moved into the lunchroom itself. That shift has made the space feel less like a back-room pickup point and more like a shared meal.
Tablecloths now cover the tables. Artwork brightens the room. Affirmation cards and small touches from home give the space warmth. There is a puzzle table, monthly raffle prizes, and plans for a sitting area once an old piano is removed.
Moving the buffet into the dining space helped change the flow of the room — something Sanders said even comes down to feel. “It just has better feng shui,” she said, laughing. “It feels more like a family-style dining space.”
Nina Old Coyote has been part of that effort too, helping shape the room’s atmosphere and stepping into the kitchen as needed. She said she tries to pitch in regularly, whether that means helping pack meals, giving the crew an extra set of hands chopping fresh veggies, or whatever it takes.
Ayub said the changes have been driven in part by Old Coyote and Sanders working together to update the space and make it feel more inviting.
“I feel like I see their passion in all these recent upgrades,” Ayub said.
Some of the changes are practical. Others are about attitude.
Waking the kitchen
Each day begins with what the staff calls “waking up the kitchen” — turning on the dishwasher, ovens and warmers, readying the workstations, and finally taking a deep breath before the day begins.
“We just take a deep breath and focus on work and leave the rest at home,” Pondelick said. “Do one thing at a time, focus on that. And before you know it, you’re feeling good.”
“It’s all about bringing good energy,” Pondelick said. “I’ve always heard not to cook or make food with an angry heart.”
The work itself is divided in a way that plays to each person’s strengths. Sanders handles the main dish. Pondelick makes salads and dressings. Old Coyote-Bagley has become the kitchen’s baker, turning out cornbread, cookies, cakes and biscuits with what Sanders called an effortless touch.
Then there is little Miss Alice.
She comes in several mornings each week, colors at her little table, counts bowls and helps pack milk for the delivery route.
“We have raised up several kids in the kitchen,” Sanders said. The family connections go even further.
Abler’s recipes still live in the kitchen’s well-worn recipe box and folders, alongside handwritten notes from other cooks and helpers who have shaped the meals over the years. Old Coyote-Bagley’s grandmother once worked there as a baker. He credits her influence on what Sanders describes as his “magic touch” as a baker.
“All of us have our families intertwined in this kitchen,” Sanders said. That sense of continuity matters, especially during a time of change.
No one in the kitchen speaks of replacing Abler. Her influence is still there in the recipes, in the room and in the habits the team continues. One corner still holds the puzzle table she loved. The kitchen still serves longtime favorites tied to her name.
But the next chapter is taking shape too.
Ayub said the team’s work can be easy to overlook, even though it matters deeply to the people it serves.
“That whole crew is amazing, but they are all-too-often unsung heroes,” she said. “It’s easy to miss because it happens behind the scenes, but the work they do really matters.”
In the Elders Kitchen, that work looks like lunch.
But it also looks like family, care, memory, and the daily, diligent effort of making people feel welcome when they walk through the door to enjoy something delicious.
