I wasn’t sure what to expect this morning when I pulled into the parking lot of St. Mary’s Catholic Church on the corner of 2nd and Market to volunteer in the soup kitchen. At 7 o’clock on a Monday morning, there wasn’t much traffic on the road and not many people about. I was greeted at the door of St. Mary’s by Martin, who was to be my supervisor for the volunteer experience at the soup kitchen, and he immediately put me to work.
First, I was given some cabbages and potatoes to chop. Then at 7:30, we began serving pastries with a cup of Starbucks coffee. While I was serving pastries to the poor and homeless, Martin said something to me that really resonated and helped me comprehend the importance of the soup kitchen. I had only handed out a couple of pastries by that time, and he came up to me and simply told me to smile and greet the people in line with a friendly “good morning”, because they were unlikely to have anyone else smile and greet them for the rest of the day. I was already aware on some level that most people, myself included, often simply ignore the poor and homeless when they encounter them on the streets. Martin’s simple instruction provided me with their perspective on such encounters, and I had a small glimpse of what it might be like to be poor and homeless. It made me more aware of the privileges I have. I am currently between jobs and if I did not have the excellent network of family and friends that is currently supporting me, I might be in the line at the soup kitchen myself. Thus, I am not only grateful to my family and friends, I am grateful to be able to give back in whatever small way I am able. With this insight, I then greeted everyone else in line with a sincere smile and a cheerful “Good morning!”
After serving coffee and donuts, it was back to chopping cabbages and potatoes for soup. I had some help from another volunteer, Lauren Squires, who you might recognize from Action News 5. Lauren and I were then tasked with stirring the large pots of soup while they cooked, to make sure the soup didn’t stick to the bottom. Once the soup was bubbling, we ladled it into Styrofoam cups to be served. Although I doubted the wisdom of the technique, we stacked the cups of soup several levels high with serving trays between each level. I am often prone to clumsiness, but I am proud to say that I did not spill a drop of soup. As menial as it might sound, I really enjoyed this task because I enjoy cooking and I am no stranger to the kitchen. The soup also smelled delicious. I burned my fingers slightly when pouring the soup into the cups, but that did not bother me because I’ve done worse to myself making roux for gumbo.
Michael Garcia keeps the soup from sticking at St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen.
When I was done pouring soup into cups, I spent some time placing pastries into plastic sandwich bags to make it easier to distribute them. At first, it was difficult to resist the temptation to lick the sugary icing off my fingers, but I quickly realized that it wouldn’t be practical to have to wash my hands between placing each pastry into a bag.
At 9 o’clock we began serving the cups of soup along with tuna or peanut butter sandwiches and fruit candy. The food seemed hearty and appealing. All the volunteers took turns serving. When I was not serving, I chatted with the other volunteers, getting to know them a little bit. It was a diverse group, including Brittany and Nate, a young married couple; Jake, a student at Christian Brothers High School; and Lynn, whose son has autism and really enjoys sports. Lynn said her son plans on participating in St. Mary’s 5th Annual Steeplechase 5k run in September and would love to be on tv after finishing the race. This was my first time at the soup kitchen but the others had been volunteering there for anywhere from a couple of months to many years. They all seemed to really enjoy it and I could understand why. It gave me a good feeling about myself and the community to see others eager and willing to help those that need it.
Michael Garcia serving soup at St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen.
Michael Garcia serving soup at St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen.
The soup kitchen is open every morning Monday to Saturday, and most days they serve 300 or more people. We served a total of around 50 people this morning. I was told that it was less busy than normal today because there was another soup kitchen in a nearby park that doesn’t run daily. There was never a long line of people waiting for food, but we served people until 10 o’clock. Everyone did their part to help clean up, picking up empty cups and trash, washing dishes, sweeping up and mopping down the kitchen. As I left, it was great feeling knowing I had done something worthwhile with my day when it was only 10 o’clock in the morning.
Thank you for reading! I’m searching for a job as an historical consultant, researcher or educator. If you know of a great fit, please send it our way: jobleads@volunteerodyssey.com.
Cheers,
Michael
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