BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Food insecurity and making ends meet are issues we hear about often at our Let's Hear It community meetups. Today, we are setting up shop at The Soup Kitchen in Boynton Beach, starting at noon, ready to listen to your stories and connect you with solutions.
WPTV reporter Victor Jorges connected with volunteers at the organization who are making a difference every morning, showing how their small but mighty team feeds thousands of people every single day.
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Everything at The Soup Kitchen is rooted in love. The non-profit has been feeding people and giving out free groceries for more than 40 years, since 1983. They serve about 1,500 hot meals daily with no questions asked.
"Prepped with love, served with love, cooked with love," Regina Fay, who runs the Meals on Wheels program, said. "More love goes into a plate at the soup kitchen than it does at home, believe it or not," Fay said.
Before 7 a.m. every single day, volunteers from all walks of life show up to serve their neighbors. By 8:30 a.m., most of the kitchen prep work is done. The volunteers gather for a meal and to review rules and steps for a smooth service before the doors open at 9 a.m.
"When people go home, besides getting the hot meal, they can create hot meals as well with the items we provide," Dimitry Viarenich, chief operating officer at The Soup Kitchen, said.
Most people take the help home for themselves. With special permission, Kenneth Pianin receives extra help to feed injured veterans he houses. Whatever he cannot get from the kitchen, he tries to find elsewhere.
"It costs me out of my pocket about $750 a week, already out of my pocket. Whatever I get here, it helps me tremendously," Pianin said. "The prices are going up, gasoline is going up, which means food prices are going up."
"This is what we do. We give, we give, and we give," Marlene Mejia, chief executive officer of The Soup Kitchen, said. "A lot of people think they’re going to see green mush on a plate, under a tent. It is not like that at all. It’s not like the movies."
Over the years, the organization noticed a group in dire need of food and extra emotional support: homebound seniors who are unable to pick up food. This led to the non-profit's Meals on Wheels program, which currently has about 100 seniors signed up.
Volunteers drop off fresh meals to homebound seniors every day, with extra meals provided on the weekends or special occasions.
"We take care of providing them meals throughout the year. Also, containers of food that they will be able to use in case of an emergency, for example, a hurricane, or something like that, where we cannot go to them that quickly," Mejia said. "We go to them instead. They are the most vulnerable of the community."
Volunteers are the key to keeping the Meals on Wheels program turning out fresh food for those who need it most.
"They plan their vacations around making sure that our senior citizens get their meals, they spend time with the," Fay said. "Many days, we’re the only people they see."
The Soup Kitchen is always looking for volunteers, especially in the upcoming summer months. They want people to come see the operation for themselves.
"There’s no job small here at the soup kitchen," Fay said. "Whether it's rolling silverware, cooking the food, prepping the meals on wheels, whatever it is, every job is important at The Soup Kitchen."
People receiving food at the kitchen shared their gratitude for the opportunity to get food and help them survive.
If you have something you would like to celebrate with a story, or you need help accomplishing something in your neighborhood, we are ready to listen to you at The Soup Kitchen in Boynton Beach today, starting at noon.
We want to be your voice and help you find solutions.
While we hold our monthly Let's Hear It meet-ups, we know many are not able to attend, but we still want to hear from you and start taking action to get you answers. You can e-mail us at LetsHearIt@wptv.com.
