Workers began the tedious task of searching through thousands of Great Northern beans early Tuesday afternoon to clear away any that were bad or to locate and remove small stones that may have ended up with the beans.
Clang! Each bean rang a pan as it hit the bottom.
The annual task is just a warmup for the crews. After scouring through 540 pounds of beans, the Lions Club volunteers put them in water to soak overnight.
At about 5 a.m. today, the first of the beans were put over heat to cook - a task that would take an hour to an hour and a half. And batches of beans would cook all day. They had to, because the Lions Club would be busy. The annual Jefferson City Host Lions Club Ham & Bean and Chili lunch and dinner (which are today) feed thousands.
Last year, more than 2,100 people enjoyed the meals.
Lunch is served 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the St. Peter Church Selinger Center, 216 Broadway. Dinner will be served 4-6:30 p.m. in the center.
Adult tickets are $10 at the door. Children ages 12 and younger are $4.
If you dine in, the meal is an all-you-can-eat extravaganza of ham and beans, chili, sauerkraut, cornbread, hot dogs, cake and beverages. "Generous helpings" are available for carry out.
Helping the Lions Club prepare food this year are volunteers from the Cosmopolitan Club, which is dedicated to fighting diabetes. Also helping today are students from the Nichols Career Center culinary group.
Last summer, the church celebrated a two-year renovation of the center, volunteer Sam Orr said.
"The parish came to the Lions Club and Cosmopolitan Club and asked what we needed here," Orr said. "They took out a wall, added a 30-gallon kettle - now they have two - and made this handicap accessible."
Another volunteer, Barb Barnard, said there's only one downside to working the lunch and dinner - the part that sticks with the volunteers.
"At 7 p.m. (today), when they go home," Barnard said, "every one of these workers will smell like sauerkraut."