The Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen has been operating for almost 39 years and a couple of weeks ago volunteers served their 1 millionth meal.
Serenah Hamlin is one of the executive directors of the Soup Kitchen. She was honored to be a part of the special occasion which took place on Feb. 29. The fact that the millionth meal was served on Leap Day also added to the celebration.
“Moving to this new location for the Soup Kitchen, almost, I believe it was almost about 20 years ago,” Hamlin said. “Was a leap of faith, because I think one of the board members actually put her own house up as collateral to get the Soup Kitchen into this building.”
According to the Soup Kitchen’s website it was started by two Episcopal Church members back in 1985, who served sandwiches on the weekends.
The Soup Kitchen serves lunch every single day of the year, including Christmas. Between 80 and 130 meals are served daily. and monthly between 3,000 and 3,500, depending on availability. Somebody is there every single day of the year to serve a warm, nutritious meal to whoever needs it.
The lifeblood of the Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen is the people who give of their time to work there, and Hamlin is one of them. She is also a real estate agent, a professional photographer and the manager of a local trampoline park.
The Soup Kitchen runs solely on the generosity of the community. Donors range from businesses, meat packaging plants, community members and grocery stores.
“We're able to stretch monetary donations much farther than the average person,” Hamlin said. “Because we're able to buy food items at discounted prices.”
To volunteer or donate, visit ifsoupkitchen.org.
“We have people from all walks of life and all different backgrounds coming together to serve as volunteers at the Soup Kitchen,” Hamlin said. “We have neighborhood teams, church teams, business teams, just all kinds of different people bringing their gifts and talents to the Soup Kitchen to volunteer.”
After 1 million meals, the Soup Kitchen is still serving up more than just food. In Hamlin’s own words the Soup Kitchen is a place where you can find a smiling face, kind words and a listening ear. Things that are sometimes more vital than the food.