The James II Project, a nonprofit organization that provides free meals in Jefferson County, is now serving four meals a week at three locations.
The group started providing a meal from 4-5 p.m. on Tuesdays at the St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 3008 High Ridge Blvd., in High Ridge. The James II Project served its first meal at the church on June 2.
Karin Kostich, The James II Project executive director, said 40 meals were served at St. Anthony of Padua during that first evening, and thanks to partnerships the group has formed with other businesses and organizations, a man with two dogs is having his car repaired.
“We have partnered with Concord Towing, and they are going to tow the car to Fairway Automotive in Arnold,” Kostich said. “We are going to have the dogs stay in a hotel in Arnold, and the St. Vincent DePaul Societies in Jefferson County are partnering together to get his car fixed.
“When that is done, we will try to find him a job. He has a commercial license and used to drive dump trucks. That happened during our first meal, and that was really cool.”
The James II Project started in June 2023 by partnering with the Salvation Army of Jefferson County, which is just outside of Arnold city limits.
The organization started by serving lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Salvation Army’s worship and community center, 3740 Telegraph Road.
The James II Project added a second lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays at the Salvation Army in September 2024.
It then expanded its mission to Festus in February 2025, serving lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Mondays at the First United Methodist Church Festus-Crystal City, 113 Grand Ave.
The organization also provides information about other assistance programs to those who come for the free lunches.
“I know this is not my hand doing,” Kostich said of The James II Project expanding over the last three years. “It is all God. It is a lot bigger than I could have ever imagined. We have 200 volunteers now, and they are amazing. We couldn’t do it without our volunteers.
“I could never have imagined it being like this. I just sit back and I am constantly in awe. I would never have thought I would do this, and I am excited to do it every day.”
Kostich said the organization had been looking into starting a meal program in the Hwy. 30 corridor after receiving a grant from the Jefferson Foundation to pay for strategic planning.
“That Hwy. 30 corridor is supremely underserved,” she said. “We looked at this location last fall, and when we got the grant, we started talking more again about High Ridge and expanding there.
“We looked at it again in February and started recruiting volunteers in March and April. We have had several Catholic parishes commit to being our volunteers. They are each taking a Tuesday.”
Kostich said members of the St. John’s in Imperial, Our Lady Queen of Peace in House Springs, St. Paul in Fenton, Sacred Heart in Valley Park and St. Anthony of Padua are serving meals.
Kostich said the group decided to serve meals later in the day in High Ridge because it is already serving lunch in Arnold on Tuesdays and to allow more people to come for the meals.
“We decided to do an evening meal because we were hoping to attract families,” she said.
Kostich said representatives from Compass and Chestnut Health have committed to being at every meal in High Ridge, and she said representatives from 25:35 Ministries, which assists people who are homeless by providing items such as clothing, will be at many of the meals.
“The partnerships are continuing,” she said.
For more information, visit thejamesiiproject.com or visit The James II Project Facebook page.