The Salvation Army in Billings will soon hit the streets, handing out hot meals to people who otherwise might not eat an evening meal.

The target date to launch the mobile outreach ministry is Nov. 9, said Maj. Kevin Jackson, who heads the local office of the faith-based nonprofit. The Salvation Army will take over the program from the Montana Rescue Mission, which has cut back on some programs for financial reasons.

In assuming the ministry, the Salvation Army is returning to its roots, Jackson said.

"In our early stages, the Salvation Army would go out and take food and clothing and meet people where they were," said Jackson, who assumed his post three months ago along with his wife, Maj. Linda Jackson.

The Jacksons moved to Montana from Los Angeles, where they spent eight years at the Salvation Army's College for Officer Training. Kevin Jackson served as dean of academics and Linda as the director of accreditation and institutional research.

The couple had previously come to Montana as students and loved it.

"When we got the opportunity to come back, we were just thrilled," Kevin Jackson said.

And while they enjoyed working in academia, by the time they came to Montana, they were ready to get back to the practical side of caring for people. The mobile outreach is one of several ways the Jacksons are adding to work of the local Salvation Army office.

"We're working on making this place more of a community center than just a place where you go and get help and emergency assistance," Kevin Jackson said. "We feel our mission is much broader than that."

That's not to say the center, at 2100 Sixth Ave. N., will stop helping people in need. As in the past, the 20 full- and part-time staff members will offer rent and utilities assistance, help in getting eyeglasses and medical prescriptions.

Clients also can get food and toy baskets at Christmas. And as in the past, they can participate in Sunday services at the onsite chapel, and Jackson plans to add a new spark to the gatherings.

One program that will cease is the food pantry. With the Billings Food Bank located just blocks away, Jackson said, there's no need for the duplication of services, and it frees up money for other projects.

To avoid duplication, one of the Jacksons' first goals when they came to town was to meet with representatives of other nonprofits and community leaders. That's when the couple learned about the Rescue Mission's decision to end its mobile outreach program.

It seemed natural for Salvation Army to take it on, Jackson said.

"We saw it as an opportunity to continue their good work," he said. "It fits well in our world view."

To take on the program required changes both in and out of Salvation Army headquarters. The Salvation Army is buying a mobile canteen with a self-contained kitchen and a four-wheel-drive truck as a support vehicle.

The kitchen is getting an upgrade to handle the food preparation. As in the past, the mobile outreach will offer soup and sandwiches.

Unlike the past, on three of the five nights, starting later in November, people along the route will get a hot meal. The meals will be cooked and packaged in the kitchen, Jackson said.

As in the past, as well, the program will rely, in part, on volunteers. Jackson is pleased that some of the key volunteers from the Rescue Mission's program will continue helping with the outreach.

Members of the Salvation Army staff also will be asked to take part in the program at least once a month. Jackson also hopes other people in the community will come on board.

"The volunteer part of it is very important," he said.

Money for the new initiative is coming from a couple sources, Jackson said.

"We're being more proactive about fundraising on the local level," he said.

And, second, the Salvation Army is getting "some pretty significant donors who want to give anonymous gifts," Jackson said.

Besides the mobile outreach, the local center is also reaching out to young people in the community. In January, Jackson and his staff will launch a creative arts program for youth ages 6 to 18.

Performing arts will include a children's symphony, a children's choir, individual music performance, music theory and guitar and piano lessons. Reaching back in time to Salvation Army's earlier days, kids also may be part of Timbrals, a performing group that uses choreographed dance music and tambourines.

Jackson hopes to incorporate a lot of that musical talent into Sunday services. It will benefit both the performers and the church visitors, he said.

Visual arts will center on classes in painting, drawing, pottery and ceramics, and photography.

Next summer, a comprehensive five-and-a-half week arts program will be offered. Performing arts students will get to attend a nine-day conservatory in Estes Park, Colo., and visual arts participants will spend a week at the Lions camp near Red Lodge.

Jackson, who before his academic stint worked in New Mexico and Northern California, has seen 7-year-olds walk into Salvation Army centers with their parents, hopelessness in their eyes. Having already been part of the programs that will soon start in Billings, he's convinced of their worth.

"That's transformational stuff," Jackson said. "We believe that gives them hope for the future. That there's talent within them."

Jackson spills over with enthusiasm as he speaks about the arts programs, about the mobile outreach, about helping change lives in Billings. It's the message he hopes will go out to people who seek out a hot meal.

It tells people "you're important - not a liability - you're important enough for us to make sure you're eating," Jackson said.

As for those who help get the food out?

"Every time someone goes out, you get changed a little bit into a better person," he said.

Contact Susan Olp at solp@billingsgazette.com or 657-1281.