Welcome to Front Porch Ministries. We’re glad you’ve taken the time to visit us. We are a little different than a normal restaurant in that we are non-profit and our food is provided on a pay-as-you-can, suggested donation only.

Our humble beginnings go back to 2008 when the local eatery in town had to shut its doors. High food prices, even higher fuel prices, and a building desperately in need of repair proved too much for anyone to manage. That left a huge void in the community. The “old guys” had no place to gather for coffee. The senior citizens had no location to gather for their weekly luncheon. The few remaining business people had no place to meet. The high-schoolers could no longer go uptown for lunch. The women’s groups had no meeting place. It was as if the center had fallen from the town.

This story could have ended there, if it were not for a determined group of volunteers who started meeting and praying for a solution. They had heard of non-profit cafes in other parts of the country and believed Ellsworth could make one happen too. Local contractors volunteered their time to repair the building. A board of volunteers was established and the paperwork to become a 501(c)(3) was filed.

To raise money to open the business we had a breakfast buffet fundraiser. The response was overwhelming. People were lined out the door, and by the the time the last guest was finished with their meal we had collected $3,152. That enabled the us to officially open our doors Labor Day weekend, 2008.

The Front Porch Ministries is now serving breakfast and lunch, six days a week. The food and desserts are home-cooked and, as much as possible, we incorporate donations from local farmers, Manna Food Project and Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan.

The place is now packed on Thursdays for Senior Citizen lunch. Many local organizations use the restaurant to host events. Food has been donated to several in need. Our prayer post provides a place for prayer requests to be shared. The lending library provides a good source of entertainment for any who’s interested. And of course, the “Table of Knowledge,” the table where all the older fellows have coffee, is full of great conversation each and every morning.

With the generosity of those who enter our doors, the countless volunteers who have given thousands of hours of their time, and our staff, we look forward to a strong future doing what we do best: “Nourishing Community.”