April, 2011– Minot, N.D. – St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation and All Saints Episcopal Church’s soup kitchen celebrated a $4,000 matching grant Thursday, which allowed for the purchase of new stoves. All Saints Episcopal is a part of a network of eight churches that provide soup kitchen meals in Minot each day of the week.
“There is a coordinated effort, through concerned people of faith, who want to meet the needs of those that are looking for help. Their mission, to serve people mentally, physically and spiritually, couldn’t be a more succinct match with our mission,” said Shelly Weppler, executive director of the St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation.
The foundation accepted the church’s grant application, providing $2,000 toward the purchase of new stoves. The church raised the remaining $2,000. The new equipment was vital to the soup kitchen’s continued operation.
“We feed between 40 and 60 people a week. Our kitchen was never set up for this kind of operation. We had three old stoves and they were barely adequate for our church functions, and inadequate for this operation,” said George Slanger, assisting priest at All Saints Episcopal Church.
The soup kitchens around Minot have been an important service for many in in the community. Slanger believes they will continue to be successful because serving others is what the churches are called to do.
“We call this kitchen our Matthew 25 effort. In that scripture, it’s very clear that’s what Jesus wanted, for us to feed the hungry. We’re carrying out that command, and whenever you do that, you find support, Slanger said.
Volunteers at the kitchen are happy to have the new equipment, which cuts down on food preparation and helps them do their work more efficiently. Alice Yeager, kitchen director, has been volunteering at soup kitchens for nine years. She said the new equipment is a blessing, and she’s glad to carry on with work she feels is important.
“It’s nice to know we’re making a difference. For some people, this is the only hot meal they’ll get today,” Yeager said.
All Saints Episcopal, which holds its soup kitchen on Thursdays, is joined by seven other churches that provide meals in the community, including Faith United Methodist, Christ Lutheran, Immanuel Baptist, First Presbyterian, First Lutheran, United Community and Seventh Day Adventists.
This article originally appeared in the Minot Daily News