Salvation Army serving up hot meals in Clarenville soup kitchen
Food bank use is up and the the group is opening a new soup kitchen to help with the growing need
The Salvation Army in Clarenville is gearing up to serve hot meals in a not-so-hot economy.
The group will open a new soup kitchen located in their existing food bank location by the end of January to help deal with the growing need for hot meals in the community.
Maj. Anthony LeDrew and his wife Maj. Yvonne LeDrew have been in the area for four years.
The LeDrews said each year the numbers at the food bank seem to increase, and this was a good way to offer people a hot meal — not just the food they need to cook for themselves.
We made it and we got it all up and running, working and we're so glad that we could do it.- Major Anthony LeDrew
"We have many, many people coming into our food bank and we thought it would be nice … to let them have a hot meal here before they even go out the door," said Anthony LeDrew.
"Although there's growth taking place in Clarenville you still have the working medium wage, you still have the single parents and there's always the people that's living in crisis," said Yvonne LeDrew.
They agree that people in the area are quite excited about the soup kitchen and many have come on board to help with the effort to get it open as soon as possible.
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Anthony LeDrew said the kitchen can serve up to 110 people and has been equipped with upright fridges and freezers, as well as electric and gas stoves.
He said the addition of gas stoves will come in handy if there is ever a power outage.
"We would be equipped for any storms or anything that might come our way," he said.
"We could cook soup for seniors and drop it off to homes, if anything like that should happen we're ready to go."
The Salvation Army received a government grant for around $20,000 to start up the kitchen, but ran into some problems during renovations which put them over budget by around $15,000.
We're also seeing where people are lonely and they're just in need of fellowship.- Maj. Yvonne LeDrew
Even with the cost overruns, he said the project was worth it, adding they now have the proper equipment to not only run the soup kitchen, but to offer others services like the seniors dinners they host each month.
"We made it and we got it all up and running, working and we're so glad that we could do it," he said.
Yvonne LeDrew said the kitchen will offer more than just a hot meal — it will also give people a place to come and talk.
"We're also seeing where people are lonely and they're just in need of fellowship," she said.
"They can come and talk about things that are happening in their lives and what they have in common and maybe get some help fom that besides being fed physically."