EDMONDS, Wash. — Bob Snyder was a former U.S. Army cook when he first came to Edmonds Lutheran Church 20 years ago to volunteer.
From there he enlisted in what was called Annie's Army — soldiers in a battle to eliminate hunger in their community — led a by a force of nature named Annie Fortnum, whose picture still hangs on the wall in the church kitchen.
"She was very dedicated," said Snyder. "She wanted this kitchen to produce a good meal for whoever came and she did that."
Every Wednesday, the church offers a free dinner to anyone who wants it at Annie's Community Kitchen. It started with just four people in 2004 and has grown to 200 today.
Volunteers say they have served more than 100,000 plates over the past two decades and in all that time they have never missed a single meal, not even during the pandemic.
"Rain, sleet, snow, power outages. The commitment to making sure people get fed and that people can gather is unbelievable," said Pastor Tim Oleson.
"It's just a thing that's grown and grown and grown," Snyder said. "She started something that she didn't know was going to be this large. In fact, I know she never dreamt it would be this gigantic."
Annie passed away two years ago at the age of 92, but Annie's Kitchen is alive and well. Over the past two decades Annie's Kitchen has grown to feed more than just stomachs. It nourishes souls.
"I think it speaks to her fortitude and her care for people and what her heart was," said Pastor Oleson. "Her heart was based in her faith to love people and the way she loved people was to feed people. You feel her presence missing here because she was a force."
Everything about the weekly meal is intentional, right down to the donated flowers on the tables.
The flowers that aren't used are re-gifted to a local hospital to help people having difficult days, one of whom wrote the church a letter of gratitude.
In it, she thanks volunteers for their "random act of kindness." The woman was struggling with alcoholism and planned to buy a gallon of vodka and "drink [herself] into oblivion," but a single flower from a complete stranger made her stop.
She wrote that it "changed [her] life forever."
It's a pride everyone in Annie's Kitchen feels, thanks to one devoted woman and her faithful army of volunteers who vow to keep her legacy alive.
"It's mind boggling what goes on," Snyder said. "It's just huge and I know Annie is very proud of it ... If not, she's gonna come back and haunt me. I'm sure she's watching very closely right now."