Where St. Patrick Soup Kitchen served meals three nights a week, the new location will open its doors each weekday for meals from 5-6 p.m. It will continue the traditional meal the last Sunday of each month, also from 5-6 p.m.
The Hobart Community Kitchen was built using a $330,000 grant from the ITW Foundation along with other grants from The Troy Foundation, the United Way and others. The ITW Foundation is associated with ITW/Hobart, whose ITW Food Equipment Group in Troy donated kitchen equipment.
“The new kitchen is a major step forward in eliminating hunger in our community,” said Dick Steineman, who founded the St. Patrick Soup Kitchen. “Troy is blessed to have the support of a corporation like ITW and Hobart. ITW’s generosity, along with generous gifts from the people of Miami County, has made this possible.”
The 3,500 square foot building looks like a house and will be set up like a restaurant where visitors are seated by volunteers and served dinner, said Greg Taylor, a St. Patrick Soup Kitchen board member.
“It is important to remember that everyone is welcome to dinner,” Taylor said. “No one has to register or qualify. We all know it can be challenging to feed a family on minimum wage jobs, and we are here to help.”
The current soup kitchen location is not handicapped accessible and could serve 60 people at one time. The new kitchen can serve up to 120.
In addition as serving as the soup kitchen headquarters, the building will host community functions and meetings. It has a board room on the second floor, which is accessible by elevator.
Among the first building events will be the Troy United Way’s closing ceremony scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24. On Tuesday, , staff from the ITW Food Equipment Group and from the ITW Foundation in Chicago will help serve meals at the kitchen.
A public open house will be held Saturday, Jan. 25, from 6-8 p.m.
More volunteers will be needed at the new community kitchen. Kitchen supporters also said there is a continuing need for donations. More information on the kitchen and how to volunteer or donate is available at www.soupkitchen.org.
About the Author