WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Hundreds of eggs and gallons of gravy go into making St. Paul's United Methodist Church's titular chicken noodle dinner. Over 1,000 pounds of noodles are prepared and packaged every year. The sheer amount of food takes the combined efforts of dozens of people and – after 78 years – the dinner has entrenched itself in the congregation and the community. "My church is my second home, so this is family. Everyone who comes and helps, either they're still members, active members, retired members that just keep coming back," congregation member Allison Koontz said. Every January, St. Paul's becomes a well-oiled machine of scooping, packing and serving. "It's a huge need, we see it daily on our front steps, on our back steps, on the streets, everywhere. So we have to do something," Koontz said. After nearly 100 years, the congregation is getting older. "A lot of the old members, that have done it for years, but each year the membership, they're dying off so it's hard to keep it going," long-time congregation member Tony Pruitt said. But the church's tradition and long-standing status in the community is paying off. "My parents were married in this church, my older sister, myself, my younger brother were all baptized in this church," Koontz said. She's the fourth generation to volunteer and the noodle dinner, bringing her son now. The congregation is finding a foothold with young members. "It's definitely helpful to have young muscles, young joints helping out and carrying stuff around, and helping out people that maybe can't do it as long anymore," Aimee Nelson, young congregation member said. Her siblings and grandparents also volunteer for the dinner. "It's tradition at this point, too. Something for the community to look forward to and an opportunity to kind of give back a little," Aimee's brother, Andrew Nelson said. Saint Paul's United Methodist Church is aiming to partner with the emergency overflow center – based out of the old Park Elementary Building – hoping to expand their sack-lunch program into supporting the facility.