The Eclipse Project: Helping Harrisburg's Homeless

09/22/2026

Remembering our friend Terry today. Received the news last week that he passed away during the night, reportedly of a heart attack, last Monday evening. He always had a smile. He was always one of the first people we saw when we pulled in and he would help us set up and crack dad jokes. Please, if anyone has any photos of him, forward them to me so that we can make a photo board and have a meal in his memory. Prayers for peace for his family and friends.

09/22/2026

I took exactly two pictures on Sunday and neither one of them were of food. It was a hectic day and I was negligent in my picture taking duties. I tried to find some old pictures of the same recipes we served on Sunday but I'm just accepting defeat. I'll do better next week, I promise.

Sunday, we served:
Sausage and peppers two ways
Buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese
Homemade chicken nuggets
General tso's chicken with rice and broccoli
Chicken spaghetti
Nonna's spaghetti with banana peppers
Cowboy casserole
Salad
Potato salad
Coleslaw
Bagel sandwiches with egg, tuna, or chicken salad
Southwest chicken soup
Desserts, birthday cake, brownies, muffins, and other deliciosities
The concoction. I don't know what else to call it. I had a gallon of corn and jalapenos from Chipotle. I had some cooked cubed chicken breast from Country Gourmet. I had a bunch of spring onions, a couple peppers from someone's yard, a couple kinds of shredded cheese, and two containers of hot crab dip from Country Gourmet. I mixed it all together in a burst of spontaneity and it was the most requested thing when people came back for seconds!

Thank you, Bethany Church of the Nazarene for your kitchen, Country Gourmet at the Market and Panera Bread for your food donations, to everyone who donated ingredients and prepared food and other items this week, and to my lovely volunteers Jerry, Bob, Carol, Kaitie, Arleen, Danielle, Crystal, Marcy, Thomas, Molly, Sam, Hunter, Claire, and Melanie? I called her Marjorie on Sunday. Is it Melanie? Ally, help me!

I realized Sunday that I used to be someone for whom prayer was a very private thing that I did by myself or possibly with just one other person and this introvert is now able to say grace out loud with my whole face in front of 100 people. Watch me grow as a human!

I have to get a special shout out to Crystal. She jumps in and helps serve when we need her. She offered to help us this Sunday and it turns out we had enough volunteers for all the serving stations but she asked if maybe she should just hang around and fill in when needed. She kept things running! She kept everything stocked. She jumped in to different stations when she was needed. She even came with us to our second stop to help us set up and serve there. We were all dripping wet by the time we were done because it rained just before we started putting up our canopies and we still had to go back and forth to the van to replenish things and she didn't skip a beat.

We have discovered we either need one big canopy or we need a very large tarp. We put up two 10x10 canopies over the tables and of course where the two canopies meet, it was a waterfall. How big are the biggest tarps? We would need at least 10x20 ft and possibly some clamps to hold it onto the canopies. Fortunately, at our first stop we are under cover but our second stop is right out there in the open and we're just raw do**in' life with all the wild weather and stuff.

We are starting to accept warm weather clothing so please no more shorts, tank tops, sundresses, sandals, etc. I know it still feels very warm out during the day, but when you're essentially sleeping outside, it's a tad chilly.

Congratulations to two of our friends who were baptized on Saturday! So proud. Looking forward to seeing the video.

We have a vegan friend who has started coming to see us again so I make an honest attempt to have something special for her every week. I have this lovely ADHD trait called rejection sensitivity dysphoria so I'm always afraid I'm going to give her something that she's not crazy about and then it would make me super sad! I handed her a container of potatoes O'Brien and some pulled "pork" barbecue made with jackfruit. I always label her container with exactly what's inside of it and, when I handed it to her, I said that I hoped she was going to like it. She's so sweet and super appreciative to me every single time I see her but Sunday, she said "you always hit the mark, Ms. Michon." 🥰 If anyone has any good vegan recipe suggestions, bring them on!

We also have a new guy at our second stop who is a pescatarian so I will keep that in mind and put something aside for him each week.

We always have lots of requests for work boots for the guys that are second stop who are looking for employment. So if you have any men's work boots, or you see any good sales, please think of us! Some of them need steel toe and some of them don't.

Pray for us in our travels and for our differently sheltered friends. ❤️ And please feel free to share our posts!

09/18/2026

What? It's Friday again already? Who's coming this Sunday to volunteer? Today is volunteer check-in day for this weekend.
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. food prep.
2:30 until 5:30. Serving at two locations.
After 5:30 until we're done, clean up.

Jerry all day.
Emma 11 a.m. until she drops.
Arleen prep.
Bob prep and cleanup.
Marcy, Sam +3 serving.

We could use a couple more in the kitchen and one or two more to help clean up.

09/16/2026

Sunday we served
Dozens and dozens of homemade jalapeno poppers
Homemade guacamole
Chicken and rice with corn and beans and a selection of salsas and pico de gallo
Pizza
Stuffed shells
Chicken and rice
Chili topped with cornbread
Sausage and peppas (You have to say it that way)
Meatballs
Three big pans of jalapeno cornbread
Buffalo chicken dip mac and cheese
Green beans
Country style ribs with barbecue sauce
Pork tenderloin with homemade teriyaki glaze
Birthday cake for Steven
Sandwiches, desserts, drinks and some more stuff I'm sure I forgot.

Thank you Bethany Church of the Nazarene for your kitchen, Country Gourmet at the Market and Panera Bread, those who picked up and delivered food donations, and everyone who dropped off items this week. We got a big donation of pork!

Thank you to my lovely assistants Jerry, Savannah, Emma, Danielle, Carol, Kinsley, two Ashleys, Arleen, Bob, Crystal, did I forget anyone? I really should write these things down.

The gentleman we gave the bicycle to last week was so happy to show it off this week and to say thank you again!

We are still looking for size 3x sweats or scrubs. Please mark them with an M to call our attention to them and make sure we get them to the right person.

Thank you to everyone who drops off pre-made food for us and to Carol for being our expediter and birthday cake baker and Emma who went with me on Saturday for 5 hours of running errands. Every bit helps. Every time Danielle takes the dish towels to wash or Rachel and Safa stop by with a big pan of something delicious or someone takes time out of their Saturday to bring us the Panera donations, it is all appreciated.

When Steven blew out his birthday candle, he said his one wish was to get housed.

Please pray for our friends.

❤️

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

Volunteer check in Friday!

Jerry
Bob
Savannah and Carol kitchen prep
Danielle clean up
Arleen and Ashley kitchen prep and serving first stop
Emma kitchen prep and serving

09/11/2026

Late post this week. I was under the weather for the past few days but I'm back.
I was a bad picture taker Sunday.
I had four volunteers who had something come up and canceled - stuff happens! - So my brain was on getting stuff done in the kitchen and making sure there were no issues with the Chipotle pickup. And if you know me, I worry about everything but it always works out! It's how I'm wired.
Sunday's menu included
Chicken tenders over cornbread stuffing
Beans and weens
Salad and fresh fruit salad
Broccoli salad and coleslaw
Chicken bacon ranch pinwheels
Carol's potato salad
Bob's chicken tenders
Eggplant parmesan
Roasted broccoli and cauliflower
Buttered green beans
Cheesesteak macaroni and cheese
Tuna casserole
Sandwiches and desserts
Drinks and snacks
Other stuff I forgot.

Thank you, Bethany Church of the Nazarene for your kitchen, Country Gourmet at the Market and Panera Bread and Chipotle for your food donations, Rachel and Safa and Donna and everybody who brings prepared food, those who picked up food donations, everyone who donated items this week, and my lovely volunteers Jerry, Bob, Carol, Savannah, Deric, Lauren, Marcy, Sue, George, Molly, Kathy, and Thomas. Did I miss anyone?

We celebrated two birthdays at our first stop.

Steve brought us a bicycle to donate and I knew exactly who it should go to. What a wonderful gift for a sweet man.

We have a newly housed friend who could use bathroom items, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products, a mop, towels, and washcloths. Please mark donations for her with the letter A so we know who they go to.

Our needs: cardboard, foam, or paper type soup cups/bowls with lids, drink powder like iced tea or fruit punch, cold drink cups.

We are going to start accepting cold weather clothing donations soon. No kids clothes, no dress clothes.

Thank you Impact Ministries of Pennsylvania for giving us the hookup to about 100 Chipotle meals that we handed out on Sunday.

God bless!

And now it's soon time to do it all over again...

09/04/2026

Volunteers - how is it already Friday again?
Check in for Sunday, please.

Alexa - away for two weeks
Kathy and Sarah - out all of September and October

Jerry all day
Kitchen prep 11-2: Savannah, Bob, Deric, Kathy and Carol
Serving: Amy, Sue, Bob, Deric, Lauren, Marcy and Emma
Cleanup: Emma
Who else?

New volunteers welcome.

09/03/2026

I customarily spend between $50 and $125 each week to serve our differently sheltered friends. This is to supplement the ingredients that have been donated. This week we received $20 in donations. We rely completely on donations. Could you commit to $5 a week? Take up a collection at your office? Have a fundraiser for us? Every dollar goes toward feeding our friends and helping us with gas for old Bessie. Please share.

I was contacted for information on sending a check so I will include that here as well.
Checks can be made out to The Eclipse Project.
Please address the envelope as follows:
Michon Zalewski
5955a Linglestown Road
Harrisburg PA 17112

Or please feel free to stop by the church, address is in our profile picture, any Sunday between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. if you'd like to meet us and see what we do.

08/31/2026

Early post this week.
Yesterday's menu for our differently sheltered friends:
Tossed salad
Chicken Caesar salad
Chicken corn chowder
Beans and weens
Hand breaded chicken tenders
Kopytka with lemon ricotta sauce (kopytka are the Polish version of gnocchi. I made potato dumplings and then tossed them with ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, and fresh squeezed lemon juice.)
Pizza
Baked spaghetti
Baked ziti
Pulled pork barbecue
Hamburger BBQ
Potato salad
Macaroni salad
Coleslaw
Fresh fruit
Chicken cheddar pasta with peas
Macaroni and cheese
Cheesesteak mac and cheese
Veggie stir fry with zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, onions, celery
Roasted seasoned broccoli and cauliflower
Tuna salad and egg salad sandwiches

Thank you to everyone who brought prepared food and donated items.

Thank you, Bethany Church of the Nazarene, Country Gourmet at the Market, Panera Bread and those who picked up and dropped off donations from these places.

My hard-working team of volunteers this weekend included Donna, Jerry, Emma, Carol, Bob, Arleen, Kinsley, Aunt Ash, Sarah, Kathy, Chelsea, Danielle, Thomas, Alexa, Sue, Molly, and Amy. Did I forget anyone? Y'all are amazing.

Donna and I spent several hours in the kitchen on Saturday.

We are in need of soup containers with lids and cold drink cups.

September and October, the folks who pick up at the WestShore Farmers market for us on Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. are going to be out of the country. If anyone is interested, it just involves visiting the market and picking up at one stand and bringing the items to the church. If you are picking up the items and you're coming to volunteer on Sunday anyway, you could just bring them with you Sunday if you have room to store them overnight.

Thank you to everyone who helps make this possible every week. ❤️