Fresh flowers, linen tablecloths, a string quartet playing Bach and a hot, freshly-prepared dinner served on china by an attentive waitstaff is usually associated with an upscale restaurant, but this is actually the experience guests receive every Sunday night at a unique soup kitchen in Nyack, N.Y.
Katie Berry, a social worker, and Gary Hecht, a carpenter, were socializing at a cocktail party five years ago lamenting that Nyack’s only soup kitchen had been shuttered. Berry wondered if it wasn’t possible to fill the void with volunteers, but then, how to pay for it? Perhaps, she suggested, the volunteers could do it all — the planning, purchasing, cooking and cleaning, reducing the cost to practically nothing. And, no matter what, the two decided, the diners would be treated like welcomed guests deserving of all the finery any restaurant patron would expect.
The soup kitchen idea is stunningly simple and easily replicated: Get six teams of ten volunteers to plan, shop for, pay for, prepare, serve and clean up the meals served to the working poor, hungry and homeless in a space donated by a church. And the result is that for nearly five years, guests have been treated like well-heeled diners at a posh eatery at space offered, in this case, by the Living Christ Church in Nyack.
When Berry and Hecht (below left, on left) began to publicize the venture in the local newspaper, they were hoping to enlist the help of 60 people, and instead 160 people responded. On a rotating basis each week, ten volunteers organize a menu, shopping list, and kitchen team to serve about 25 guests at the soup kitchen — and Sunday Supper became a reality.
Mostly, these guests are among the working poor, some are struggling families, many have medical conditions and a few are homeless. “One man I know has a chronic, serious ailment that has kicked him out of the workforce. He comes and eats meals and has begun to make friends there. For another woman who is competent, bright, educated, but has a mental illness and cannot stay in the workplace, this is a place for her,” says Berry.
“The really remarkable thing about the soup kitchen is that the model is so simple. We’ve discovered that people love to volunteer for organizations like this and churches are willing to have responsible groups use their facilities. It’s a win-win for everyone. The community has been incredibly supportive with families participating by serving together or students from the local middle, high school or colleges getting community service hours. Local musicians donate their talents to provide live music and local businesses donate goods like fresh flowers or bread on a weekly basis,” she adds.
The concept proved to be so successful that a second soup kitchen called Soup Angels was launched on Wednesdays at a different church with a new roster of 130 volunteers. “People who are hungry on Sunday are probably hungry on Wednesday, right?” says Berry. Soup Angels serves about 35 guests each week.
“Our mission is to serve a weekly Sunday supper to anyone who arrives hungry and/or lonely. All who come will be treated as our guests and every one will have a meal prepared and served to them,” says Gary Hecht. “We believe that by working together we can embody a great truth: Serving one another is a value we can all embrace.”
The two hope that other communities will be similarly inspired.
“Our format is different and doable. Any community can have a similar success,” says Berry. “In its short life, these soup kitchens have been well respected and beloved by those who benefit from it — either by serving or being served.”
For more information on volunteer opportunities and to donate, visit Sunday Supper.
Photos courtesy of Sunday Supper.