We can’t do it every day but we can do Tuesdays, and we can make it count.”

Jennifer Melecio, co-owner of Lock and Dam Eatery

Lock and Dam Eatery
101 2nd St. E
Hastings, MN 55033
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It started with a social media post, a borrowed idea, and a big heart.
When Jennifer Melecio, co-owner of Lock and Dam Eatery in downtown Hastings, saw a friend share what a restaurant in Texas was doing to help its community, she didn’t hesitate. That place was giving away free pizza. She thought, why not do something similar here?
“I just love the idea that it spread like wildfire,” she said. “We don’t have to recreate the wheel. I’m a big fan of stealing ideas, as long as it’s not from another local restaurant.”
So, she and her husband, Bernardo, put together a plan. Every Tuesday in November, Lock and Dam would serve free spaghetti dinners to anyone who walked in hungry. Dine-in only, no questions asked.
“We can’t do it every day,” Melecio explained, “but we can do Tuesdays, and we can make it count.”
Each plate includes spaghetti with marinara or Alfredo, a breadstick, and a glass of water. No appetizers, no lingering, just a warm meal and a table to sit at.
“I have a friend making table tents that say something like, ‘Enjoy your meal, but please make room for the next guest,’” she said. “It’s not about rushing people out, it’s about feeding as many as we can.”
They’re not checking IDs, even though the original idea suggested asking for SNAP or WIC identification. Melecio made it clear from the start that no one would be turned away.
“Our job isn’t to embarrass anybody,” she said. “Are you hungry? That’s what matters.”
The response has been overwhelming. Volunteers have stepped forward to help wash dishes and clear tables. Customers are donating money in tip jars, over Venmo, and even adding meals to their bills.
“People just walk in and say, ‘How can I help?’” Melecio said. “One guy reached out from 90 miles away.”
The meals are offered on-site to avoid the cost of takeout containers, but exceptions are made when needed. One woman with a disability was quietly sent home with a meal to go.
Lock and Dam also offers something else: free Thanksgiving dinners to go, something they’ve done since the pandemic began. Families can sign up, let the restaurant know how many adults and kids they’re feeding, and pick up a full meal the week of Thanksgiving.
“It’s not fancy,” Melecio said. “But it’s real food, and it’s made with care.”
Each meal comes with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, green bean casserole, and cranberry salad. Melecio and her husband plan to cook 18 turkeys this year, along with over 100 pounds of mashed potatoes.
“It’s a lot,” she said, “but it’s worth it.”
Still, she admits the effort comes with challenges. Covering staff wages, buying bulk ingredients, and supplying to-go containers all add up. That’s where community support has filled the gap. Melecio buys ingredients at restaurant pricing, stretching every dollar further than an individual shopper could.
“If someone wants to help, ten dollars goes a long way here,” she said. “I can get a whole commercial sized can of sweet potatoes for that, not just two little ones.”
Melecio knows what it’s like to need help. In 2006, during the economic downturn, her husband was a truck driver, she was a server, and they were raising three kids. They were on food stamps.
“It wasn’t about us,” she said. “It was about feeding our children.”
She remembers watching every dollar at the grocery store, sometimes putting items back if they were a few cents too much. Now, she says, she’s in a different place in life. She doesn’t check prices the way she used to. But she hasn’t forgotten what it felt like to wonder if there would be enough.
That experience has shaped how she put on this effort. There’s no judgment, no screening, no assumptions.
“You don’t know what someone’s going through,” she said. “I used to drive a Mercedes, an old one from Florida that I drove into the ground, but people looked at me like I had money. You don’t know what someone has in their bank account.”
She’s had people walk in who, on the surface, seem fine. They might be driving a decent-looking car. But sometimes, that car is the only thing they have left. It’s where they live.
“You just don’t know,” she said. “And that’s why we’re doing this. No one should feel ashamed to need help.”
Just across town, Ze’s Diner in Hastings is showing that same kind of heart, offering help in a different way.
“We know next month might be a bit tougher for some of our neighbors, so we’ve teamed up with our vendor to lend a helping hand to our community,” the diner posted on social media.
Starting Tuesday, November 4, Ze’s began handing out free boxed lunches and pantry boxes. The lunch includes a ham or turkey sandwich, chips, fruit, and bottled water. The pantry box includes spaghetti, sauce, milk, juice, and fruit. They’ve even made four frozen turkeys available, first come, first served.
“Take whichever box helps you most, no questions asked,” the post read. “We’re here for you, Hastings.”
The staff prepped everything in advance and plan to keep offering the meals until supplies run out.
“We plan to do it until we can’t,” they wrote. “We do have quite a few.”
Both restaurants made their announcements on social media. Both efforts sparked immediate responses. And both are helping Hastings weather a storm that’s bigger than any one business can fix alone.
The state’s current hunger crisis is being called a crisis of scale. Food shelves across Minnesota are stretched thin. With SNAP cuts in effect, many families are turning to local aid. But the numbers are grim.
“The food shelf network in Minnesota cannot fully meet that increase in demand,” said Amy Sutton, Executive Director of Hastings Family Service. “But with more food, more funding, and more volunteers, we can help fill the gap.”
Governor Tim Walz recently approved four million dollars in emergency food shelf funding, but that amount only covers two days of SNAP benefits statewide. For the rest of the month, families will need to turn to places like food shelves, neighbors, and, in Hastings, restaurants.
What Ze’s Diner and Lock and Dam Eatery are offering isn’t a solution to a federal problem, but it is a solution for someone who needs a meal today.
The thought process for the restaurants is simple. You may not have needed help yesterday. You may not need it tomorrow. But if you need it today, we’re here.
And in Hastings, that’s exactly what’s happening. Neighbors feeding neighbors. No shame. No conditions. Just food, care, and a little more breathing room during a month when a lot of families need it most.