Westminster Comes to the Rescue of Fulton Soup Kitchen

Sheila Murray (left) serves Sophia Bader as Fulton Soup Kitchen guests are given temporary service in Backer Dining Hall (Photo by Helen Wilbers/Fulton Sun)

The Westminster mission of community service has come to the forefront once more, with the College coming to the rescue of the Fulton Soup Kitchen to ensure underprivileged people  in the community do not go hungry.

When it became clear the Soup Kitchen was no longer going to be able to operate out of the John  C. Harris Community Center and the service had no new location, Westminster’s Fresh Ideas Director Jade Bradford, who has volunteered at the local soup kitchen, stepped in to ask Westminster and Fresh Ideas to provide a temporary home for the service.

“I decided we had to help them,” Jade said.  “We can’t let kids go hungry when we have all this food.”

Katherine Bader, President of the Soup Kitchen, and Jade made the request, and Westminster approved soup kitchen guests coming to Backer Dining Hall to eat starting Thursday, Nov. 8.

The current 20-25 unaccompanied children who have been eating meals at the Soup Kitchen will meet at 6:30 p.m. nightly at the flagpole of the John C.  Harris Community Center and be escorted by volunteers to Backer.  Adults and families will meet at the “Breakthrough” sculpture in Latshaw Plaza at 6:40 p.m. and be joined by the children’s group to enter the Mueller Leadership Hall together.

Once the soup kitchen guests have been served at the buffet, they will take their food into the Marsh Jones Room to eat.

Westminster will provide  this temporary solution while the Fulton Soup Kitchen searches for a new permanent location.

“Until God opens a door, Westminster College has agreed to feed everyone who needs it,” says Lisa Thornburg, Director of the Fulton Soup Kitchen.