In just her second day on the job, Tacara Taylor worked deftly to prepare food at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen right before lunch on Friday.

The environment wasn’t exactly new to her. She volunteered at the nonprofit organization a few years ago, and the experience of interacting with people seeking a meal — along with some fellowship — had stayed with her.

“I see myself as very friendly,” said Taylor, born in Hattiesburg and raised in Meridian. “I like talking to people, and I think there’s a good purpose to L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen.”

In the midst of the holiday season, that’s an attitude that’s cherished by the people who come in for a meal at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen at 801 18th Ave. At one table, friendliness was the first quality that came to mind as one of the patrons described the whole experience of eating at the kitchen.

As people began filing in for lunch on Friday, Taylor and the others working at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen remained calm and congenial. As someone who takes care of children at home, Taylor said, she’s able to handle the work at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen in stride.

“Preparing food is not a challenge,” she said, and then she added with a smile: “Cooking is not a challenge, cleaning is not a challenge, being friendly is not a challenge.”

Those tasks will all be part of the work for the staff members at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen as Christmas approaches.

“We’re doing ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, sweet potato casserole, rolls and assorted desserts,” said Fannie Johnson, executive director of L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen.

As it was for Thanksgiving, the meal schedule for L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen’s will remain the same on Christmas as it is on ordinary days — although during holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, Johnson said, the kitchen may add a little food to the usual balanced meal she strives to provide.

“But that’s what every family does,” she said. “And we’re family here.”

L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen serves breakfast from 7:15 to 8 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. She noted, too, that four churches serve meals on Sunday in L.O.V.E’s Kitchen’s parking lot at 12:30 p.m.

That means, explained Johnson, that all meals are provided somewhere in the area for people who need them. The meal times that L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen does not cover, she said, are covered by area churches and The Salvation Army of Meridian, which serves dinner.

The combination of meals provides an important service, Johnson said, because it can eliminate the horrible dilemma people might face of choosing between buying solid meals and paying other necessary expenses, such as rent. She emphasized that most of the people who come in for meals are working — but still struggling to get by.

“Probably 60 percent of our clients, if not more, are not homeless,” she said. “They’re working poor. They don’t have five, six, seven dollars to go buy lunch with. So they come out here and have lunch. They get a break. They get to recuperate. And they go back to work so they can take care of their other needs.”

L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen, she explained, reaches into other areas of people’s lives, too. For the past few months staff members have been running a “Loads of Love” program to allow people to drop off their laundry, usually two days a week. Johnson said the effort is sponsored by Leadership Lauderdale, a program under the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation.

Johnson also noted an effort called “Fruits of Labor,” which began about four years ago. Through that program, she explained, a person can work part-time at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen while receiving support from organizations such as the Multi-County Community Service Agency, the Care Lodge Domestic Violence Shelter, The Salvation Army of Meridian and Habitat for Humanity. Johnson also called several businesses in the area, and they made commitments to interview the person working in the program after 90 days. She noted that several people in the program landed good jobs, including Roy Gully, the program’s first participant.

Now, Gully is the supervisor and senior employee at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen.

“I’ve been there,” Gully said, as he contemplated the people who are struggling. “That’s what makes me happy in helping someone who needs the help. I’ve already been there.”

Love’s Kitchen, a United Way agency, is funded by grants from foundations, churches, businesses, individuals and families, Johnson said. She also delineated some of the ways community members contribute to the kitchen, with “everything from financial donations to volunteering.”

She noted help with such things as grant writing, sorting food in the pantry, and graphic design to create informational brochures.

“We wouldn’t be here without this community,” she said.

Johnson, a Meridian City Council member, began her own work at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen about 10 years ago. After serving in the U.S. Army, Johnson worked as a government administrator in which she coordinated special events, such as conferences. She later earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management from Meridian Community College, and by 2008 she was working at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen as the director of kitchen operations. She became executive director soon afterward.

She said between 50 and 80 people generally come to the breakfasts, followed by 80 to as many as 200 people to the lunches.

Coordinating special events supplied Johnson with plenty of experience in shepherding a process with so many moving parts, but she sees an essential difference between special event planning and her work at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen.

“I’m trying to do a basic meal instead of a fancy party,” she said. It’s a meal, she added, that “reminds me of home.”

People seeking more information about L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen, including donation needs, can call 601-693-1409.