WATERVILLE -- Kelly Kneeland sliced the pan of cornbread into neat squares and wrapped the pieces in plastic.

In just two hours, she would be handing out the bread to patrons of the Universalist Unitarian Church's Evening Sandwich Program.

"I love coming here every week," Kneeland, 18, said Tuesday. "Everyone here is so friendly, and I love getting off campus and seeing new faces."

A Colby College freshman from Stoneham, Mass., this was Kneeland's third time helping out with the sandwich program, which she learned about at the Colby Volunteer Center. The first time was unsettling, as she had never witnessed so many people in need.

"It was a very big shock to me, especially since I'm not used to seeing this type of situation. It was so sad, but it makes me so happy that I can help out and that I can contribute to the Evening Sandwich Program."

It is because of volunteers like Kneeland that the sandwich program has been able to survive for 20 years, according to the program's director, Maili Bailey.

Bailey was at the kitchen Tuesday, cubing potatoes to toss into a large pot of beans, tomatoes, pasta, kielbasa and carrots -- carrots grown at Colby's organic gardens.

"I don't know what it is," Bailey said when asked what the dish is called. "I'll make up a name."

The atmosphere is convivial at the kitchen, located in the basement of the Silver Street church, where patrons get a hot takeout meal from 4 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.

Bailey, who has volunteered there for 15 years, plans to speak at area churches about the program in honor of its 20th anniversary. She said the program survives on donations from individuals, organizations, businesses and grants from the government.

The program serves up to 200 people a day, averaging 100, she said. Over the 20 years, it has served 350,000 meals and has had 1,200 volunteers, including high school and college students, retirees, church members and youth groups from those churches, as well as from area summer camps. On its first day 20 years ago, it served 10 people, including kitchen staff, Bailey said.

Former church members, the late Steve and Winnie Kierstead, started the sandwich program after they heard people were diving into trash receptacles, looking for food, Bailey said. One day, Steve Kierstead told Bailey she was the new director -- and she accepted the challenge.

Universalist Unitarian Church members work in the kitchen with other volunteers on Tuesdays; on Wednesday, First Congregational Church members do the work; Thursday, St. Mark's Episcopal Church; and Friday, a combination of UU Church members, Colby students and others.

Bill Lee, an attorney whose office is located nearby on Silver Street, takes a break from work every Tuesday to volunteer at the kitchen. His specialty is making peanut butter and banana sandwiches, according to Bailey.

"She will allow you to have some liberty with the content of some sandwiches, particularly if she's not looking," Lee quipped.

On a more serious note, Lee, who also is city solicitor for both Waterville and Winslow, says Bailey is an extremely hard worker and the sandwich program has been a wonderful resource.

"It's a great place. I really like the fact that people come here and nobody's passing judgment or asking, 'Do you need that?' Things are being given to people the way they need it -- no questions asked."

Steve DeSalme worked all day doing maintenance at McDonald's on Kennedy Memorial Drive and then stopped in to help out. He answered a newspaper ad Bailey placed 10 years ago looking for volunteers for the sandwich program and he's been helping ever since.

"I cook food," he said. "Sometimes I help Maili make the soup. Whatever she needs. I sweep the floor."

DeSalme, 55, of Winslow, said volunteering is fulfilling.

"I like the people that we serve, and I like the people that we volunteer with. I enjoy helping -- giving back to the community."

The youngest volunteer is Joseph Libby-Cornette, a student at Albert S. Hall School. Bruce O'Donnell, a retired Husson College professor who taught graduate students statistics and research methods, has been volunteering about five years.

"I love it; really and truly, I do," he said. "Frankly, I wouldn't do it if I didn't. It gives me a chance to meet people I wouldn't otherwise meet, both on the staff and our clients."

Later Tuesday, patron Gary Lee, of Waterville, stepped out of the church carrying a bag containing the meal he had just received.

"I don't come down here all the time," said Lee (no relation to Bill Lee). "The only time I come down here is when I get hungry. My girlfriend just left, so I came down here."

He said the sandwich program is excellent and the volunteers are kindhearted.

"Can't find a better place than this," he said, his eyes welling with tears. "If I had some money, I'd give it to them."

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com