01/07/2014
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5 / 8Despite the snowstorm, people still travel to the soup kitchen to eat
Bags of bread sits on a table at the Christian Outreach Center, 600 Gratiot Ave, Saginaw, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. The bread is for people who are unable to get to the store due to the snowstorm.Neil Barris | Mlive.comPrint By Mark Tower | mtower@mlive.com The Saginaw News
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on January 06, 2014 at 3:20 PM, updated January 06, 2014 at 3:22 PM Polar Vortex
Live Reporting: Saginaw City Council meets despite snowstormPolar Vortex: Great Lakes Bay Region residents tell story of storm through social media imagesCrowd dwindles at Old Town soup kitchen as snow, subzero wind chills hit SaginawSaginaw County schools close Tuesday as bitter temperatures settle inSnow day video rentals surge during stormRoad conditions a factor in tanker truck overturning in Midland, spilling small amount of siliconePartial roof collapse closes Saginaw Township Kmart in wake of heavy snowfallTrash pickup delayed for much of Saginaw County in wake of winter stormQuestion of the day: Snowed in? Tell us how you spend your day offMid-Michigan schools close Monday, Jan. 6; MBS airport cancels, delays flights as snow storm hits: Top stories from Sunday, Jan. 5All Stories | SAGINAW, MI — Come to Old Town Christian Outreach Center's soup kitchen on most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Manager Bill Burns said, and you will see about 200 people crowding in for a free, hot meal.
But with 7 inches of freshly-fallen snow and wind chills nearing -20 degrees, about 30 people came in for lunch on Monday, Jan. 6.
But, Burns said, it's not all about the numbers.
Kim Cronkright, who serves as the soup kitchen's cook, came up to Burns during lunch Monday to relay something a woman said to her as she was leaving.
"She said she was so glad that we were able to give her seconds today because she had no food at home," Cronkright said. "That kind of thing is what makes it all worth it."
Burns agreed, noting the soup kitchen has not closed its doors for a single scheduled hot meal since the service began in 2008 or for a grocery distribution day since 2001.
"If it was just for that one person, we'd be open," he said.
Because volunteers prepared a meal that could have fed as many as 100 people Monday, Cronkright said, there was enough to offer seconds to the people who were at the Old Town site.
Burns said usually on days that schools cancel classes due to snow or ice, the soup kitchen still feeds 80 to 100 people. He guessed that the very cold temperatures and wind chills Monday kept people away.
Burns points out a photograph in his office that shows a lengthy line of people with cardboard boxes awaiting a Saturday grocery distribution at the center, despite snow swirling around them.
"That shows a real need within the community," he said. "That's why we are open even in bad weather: because of that need."
Clara A. Kukla walked through the snow Monday, with the help of her walker, from her nearby group home on Michigan Avenue.
Kukla said the walk was no picnic but that it was easier than she anticipated thanks to residents and businesses along the way clearing sidewalks.
"My mind made it worse than the weather was," she said. "If I had to come earlier before the plows got to it and all, I would have had a heck of a time."
Kukla said she gets meals where she lives, but she comes to the soup kitchen three times a week because of the high quality, nutritious meals they provide.
"We're not fed like that there," she said, referencing her group home.
Burns said the soup kitchen always tries to provide meals rich in carbohydrates, proteins, vegetables and, as often as possible, fruit.
Cronkright said they depend heavily on donated food, mostly through Hidden Harvest and the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, meaning menus must be planned based on what food is available.
"It's kind of hard because we get so much donated," she said. "We just try to make it work. It always comes off somehow."
Burns said the soup kitchen could not survive without individual donors, who provide about 80 percent of its operating expenses, or the 70 to 80 volunteers who prepare and distribute food.
"They're great and the backbone of the program, really," he said.
The soup kitchen is technically operated separately from the Old Town Christian Outreach Center, where the kitchen is based.
In addition to the soup kitchen's hot meals from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it also provides a grocery distribution at 11:30 on Saturdays. The Outreach Center also provides an afternoon meal in conjunction with its religious services on Sundays at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Burns said he and other volunteers want to help those in need in the community as a way to practice Biblical principles.
Mark Tower covers local government for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-284-4807, by email at mtower@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
