Finalist 1
Cookies, Chicken, and Connection: Volunteers and Neighbors at Matt Talbot
by Brady Cornelius
This photo story documents a Saturday lunch service at Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach in Lincoln, Nebraska, highlighting both the volunteers who serve and neighbors who rely on the meal. Images of community members assembling meals, alongside security opening the doors at 11:30 A.M. sharp, illustrate the coordinated teamwork required to serve a hot lunch.
This story centers lived experiences of the guests waiting outside—some navigate homelessness, mental illness or recent incarceration—who gather for food and connection. Moments such as 1-year-old Cyncere Harris eating his meal and 10-year-old Morgan Zuerlein placing a cookie into a to-go box punctuate the generational nature of service and need. These photographs reveal how a simple meal becomes a point of dignity and community in Lincoln.
From left, Morgan Zuerlein, 10, of St. Joseph Catholic School, Kathi Kahel, 75, of Lincoln, Nebraska, Linda Nelson, 63, of Lincoln, Nebraska, Rex Nelson, 60, of Lincoln, Nebraska, Mark Linebaugh, 61, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Mai Linebaugh, 54, of Lincoln, Nebraska, prepare to serve a hot lunch to people experiencing homelessness at Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
From left, Emelio Dominguez, 24, of Lincoln, who is experiencing homelessness and lives with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Kevin, who declined to give his last name, and Lee Bryant, 35, of South Dakota, who has been sober since Feb. 16 following a 19-month prison sentence, wait to enter Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach for a hot lunch on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Security officer Forrest Dalton unlocks the doors at 11:30 a.m. to allow people in need to receive a hot lunch from the Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
Linda Nelson, 63, and Mai Linebaugh, 54, both of Lincoln, Nebraska, prepare popcorn chicken and rolls on a tray for someone to sit down and eat at Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Cyncere Harris, 1, of Lincoln, Nebraska, eats a meal provided by volunteers at Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach while holding a paper cup and an ice cube in his mouth on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Morgan Zuerlein, 10, of St. Joseph Catholic School, places a cookie into a to-go lunch box for someone in need at Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Gary Brakhage visits Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach to connect with others and better understand their situations on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska. “Bring the jobs back. Get rid of the right to fire someone without notice,” Brakhage said.