FARMINGTON – The smell of onions cooking hits once the side door to the Fairbanks Union Church is opened.

Following the aroma that seems to instantly cause hunger pains leads you downstairs to the kitchen where three pots are simmering on the stove.

There, Louise Hagerstrom of Strong is working along side Louise Bunker of Farmington as the two prepare for the fish chowder luncheon later Friday morning.

Upstairs there are volunteers preparing the tables and chairs for diners.

Other members of the church have either baked apple crisp and biscuits, made homemade sour pickles, acquired supplies or will deliver meals, among other services they provide.

The volunteers do this once a month and feed on average about 50 people each time to help supplement the church’s budget, Hagerstrom said.

“We’re struggling like everyone is now with our budget,” she said.

Since it was the first Friday of Lent, she didn’t know if they would get more than that.

The Rev. Scott Planting had already done all the onions and fried the salt pork and bacon before he went to officiate at a funeral, Hagerstrom said.

He gets the base of the chowder ready and she takes over from there.

Two large pans contain a salt pork base and a smaller pot contains an olive oil base for people who don’t eat meat.

Hagerstrom took out two big bags of haddock fillets and started adding them to the mix.

She uses canned milk, whole milk and half-and-half in her recipe.

Barker wrapped squares of cheese individually for the takeout orders and then started to wrap the pickles, both dill and sour.

It was 10:20 a.m. and 10 orders for takeout were already placed. The luncheon starts at 11:30.

The odor of cooking fish blended with the smell of the onions and turned up the heat on the appetite. Then Hagerstrom added different types of milk to the chowder.

Apple crisp and biscuits wrapped in tinfoil warmed on the shelf above the stove.

“I want to help, and this is something I can do for the church that I’m really comfortable with,” Barker said as she continued to wrap. “I like working with ladies.”

Not all the volunteers are women; men help out, too.

Clyde Ross of Farmington came in with paper cups and some individual packages of butter and started putting the cups under the cupboard.

Once he’s finished, he asked what they needed him to do.

A tray with salt and pepper shakers, sugar, pickles, cheese, napkins and other items is handed to him to take upstairs to the meeting room.

“Clyde is a godsend when it comes to running up and down the stairs,” Hagerstrom said. “I don’t think I would last long.”

She lifted the cover to one pan and stirred the chowder.

It was coming good, she said, as she put the cover back on and moved to the second pot.