Chicken and noodles at the Sacred Heart food stand have been a favorite of Wright County Fair-goers for roughly 60 years. This year, however, they will not be available. In fact, the stand won’t be open at all.
“The main reason for not opening was due to COVID, and not enough people willing to work,” said Sacred Heart food stand organizer Phyllis Larson. “When I first made the decision not to open, we were still under a mask mandate, and I could not ask people to wear a mask in 90+ degree temps. Also, several people were not yet vaccinated and I did not want unvaccinated people working in close quarters with others.”
Larson, who has managed the stand for the past 12 years, said that the church tried to rent out the stand for this year’s Wright County Fair. They tried three different options, but unfortunately, none of them accepted the offer to take it over.
“We are in hopes that our church will be able to open it back up again next year,” said Larson.
If that doesn’t work out, she said they will try again to rent it out in hopes someone can fill the church’s void.
Operating the stand is no easy job. It takes a lot of hands on deck whether they are preparing food at the church, baking pies at home to bring to the stand, or serving meals inside the stand. The stand usually opened at 6 a.m. for breakfast and didn’t close until the end of the Fair day around 10 p.m., so in order to make things go smoothly, Larson said she needs anywhere from 30 – 35 volunteers per day.
This count doesn’t include all the volunteers that it takes during the winter months to make the from-scratch noodles that has made chicken and noodles the stand most popular offering (breakfast was the second most in demand).
“We make noodles in the winter when the furnace is operating in the Parish Center so they will dry more easily. Then they are frozen,” said Larson.
Supply ordering and organizing starts in May for Larson.
“There are lots and lots of things to get ordered. Fareway has been so helpful to me during the past years. I can count on them to get the supplies I need,” she noted.
The chicken is usually cooked in early June and frozen until the Wright County Fair starts the first full week in July each year. Larson said this whole process to prepare for and run the fair stand takes thousands of man-hours
“It was a hard decision to not open this year. We did a lot of thinking about ways we could do it, but nothing was going to work for us. We are sorry to disappoint the Fair Board with not opening,” said Larson. “Parish members are getting older, so we have less people that can put in as many hours as they used to. We have too many people who just don't volunteer their time. The work falls on the same limited number of people. It is lots of work, but I personally kind of missed it last year, and I know I will this year.”
Larson said, despite all the time it takes, she has enjoyed getting to know people on a more personal level while working the Fair food stand over the years.
“It is a lot of work, but it is God's work for our church community. There are so many good and loyal workers that I can count on. We just need more,” she said.
Sacred Heart in Eagle Grove plans on doing a drive-up food purchase opportunity in August. Chicken and noodles (single servings), beef burgers, barbequed pork sandwiches, potato salad, coleslaw, fruit, and maybe even pie will all be available. Watch for an ad in the Eagle.
