VILLAGE OF MANLIUS – With the weather starting to warm up, the Manlius United Methodist Church is ready to continue its chicken barbecue fundraising events.
The church at 111 Wesley St. typically holds three barbecues through spring and summer. The first of 2023 is scheduled for the morning of Saturday, May 6 with the next one currently expected to take place in July and another planned for either August or September.
A familiar occurrence to many in the village of Manlius, the chicken barbecues have been going on since Harry Hale joined the church as a member over 40 years ago, and even well before then.
“It’s been a tradition at our church for many decades,” said Hale, the president of the Manlius United Methodist Church men’s group responsible for hosting the barbecues.
Money raised through the barbecues is used to support outreach mission work throughout the local community and beyond.
In past years, the Manlius church has made charitable contributions to the American Red Cross, the Fayetteville Manlius Food Pantry, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and Helping Hounds Dog Rescue as well as World Central Kitchen, an organization that provides meals in the immediate wake of natural disasters, and the Syracuse-based nonprofit In My Father’s Kitchen, which assists the homeless with a focus on cooking.
The church additionally puts proceeds from the barbecues toward sending kids to summer camps if their parents are having trouble affording the fees, and the entire church with help from the men’s group has given funds to Mission Maji for the building of a freshwater well in a remote Kenyan village that previously had no direct access to clean drinking water.
“We also donate to projects going on around the church like maintenance projects and things of that nature to keep the church building as up to date and secure as we can get it,” Hale said.
For the barbecues, the cooking goes on outside in the church yard with the trusty portable grill all fired up. The rest of the food preparation is done down in the church’s kitchen and brought up to customers.
If they so choose, people are welcome to eat on the church property in a shaded section with tables and chairs on the lawn facing Pleasant Street. A take-out option is also available each go-around.
The full chicken dinners with sides of salt potatoes, cole slaw, and a roll are $13 and there’s also a senior price. Transactions are completed under a pop-up awning on the Wesley Street side. The barbecues coincide with bake sales supporting the church’s youth ministries that normally feature donated pies, cookies and brownies.
Hale said that after expenses are covered the chicken barbecues usually raise upwards of $1,000 per day and that generally anywhere from 300 to 350 chicken halves are sold each time. He said the events advertised for 11 a.m. often see the meals sell out early, especially with people tending to show up by 10 those mornings. The barbecues last until everything is gone, which is usually the case around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, but the volunteers have been known to stick around until 4 or 5 if people keep trickling in and they have food left. Hale said the church receives calls ahead of time from people asking about the barbecues and messages expressing anticipation for the return of the events in the warm-weather months.
“The outpouring of support from our community is overwhelming and we are thankful that we can financially support so many great causes because of the proceeds,” he said. “We appreciate it greatly, and it’s always good to see repeat customers. We hope to encourage new people to come too and try it out to see what they think.”
Hale said the sizable turnout has been a testament to the taste and quality of the chicken, which is ordered through Smith Packing Company out of Utica.
“We always refer to them as our world-famous chicken barbecues even if not too many people outside of Central New York have heard of us,” he added. “It’s juicy and flavorful and cooked to perfection.”
He said he enjoys the barbecues the men’s group hosts because of the fellowship with other church members and the interaction with other people from the community.
Any men of any age can join the Manlius United Methodist Church men’s group. For more information, email the church office at [email protected].