My day at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Soup Kitchen started early. The rain and my post-biking body aches made it difficult to get out of bed, but my “struggles” were really put into perspective for me once I got downtown and started preparing food for homeless Memphians.
St. Mary’s has been serving the poor and homeless communities of Memphis for 143 years, They host three separate meals: fruit or oatmeal at 6:30, coffee and pastries at 7:30, and then a larger meal including soup, a meat sandwich, a PB&J sandwich, and a granola bar or bag of chips. The Soup Kitchen partners with many community groups to make this happen. Many local schools and religious groups donate sandwiches, while Starbucks generously donates all of the coffee and pastries handed out each morning. The kitchen is open 6 days and week, and feeds about 100 people per day.
Dicing up some yummy cuts of chicken at the St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen!
I was able to help serve the main meal of the day. I started chopping cuts of beef and chicken into bite sized pieces for the soup. I was joined by Chip and Loretta, who are veteran choppers and would have sunk me in any cooking competition. They both come early in the mornings before work to help prepare the meals. What a great way to start one’s day!
While I worked I also got to meet Martin, who is the new Director of Homeless Ministries at St. Mary’s. He was explaining how he got his start at St. Mary’s through volunteering in the soup kitchen, which eventually turned into a full-time position. His story inspired me to stick with my passion in the hopes that one day it can become my career!
PBJ, meat sandwiches, and chips just waiting to be handed out at St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen!
I was able to interact with all of the people in line for a bite to eat. Once people made it through the food line, they were invited to sit at one of two long tables available and enjoy their meal. The fellowship I witnessed was incredibly heartwarming. Friends in a dry place socializing with something warm to eat. One man brought a shopping cart full of equipment. It blew over in the wind, but another man got up from his meal to help the man collect his belongings and right his cart. I was moved by this small kindness.
Drawing done by one client of the St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen, featuring birds of paradise because being in St. Mary’s is like paradise for him.
The St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen helped me to “check my privilege,” so to speak, and remind me of all that I have. While everyone else was preparing for Halloween spooks and scares, I saw a real fear that people must overcome each day: the fear of not knowing where your next meal is coming from. But I also met a counter to that fear. Loving people who work to replace these fears with hope.