Virjean Martin sat at a round table inside the John C. Harris Community Center on Thursday surrounded by friends as they waited for volunteers to serve dinner. Steam from banquet chafers heated the dining hall and smells of cheesy chicken and rice, pasta, peas and green beans permeated the room.
Wearing her signature red hat, Martin, like dozens of others, waited to line up for the Fulton Soup Kitchen meal, prepared by members of Southside Baptist Church. While Martin, a 62-year-old Army veteran, doesn't always go to the soup kitchen, she makes sure she's there on Thursdays - the last day free meals are served before the weekend. After paying rent and other expenses, there's little left of Martin's social security and disability money, and purchasing meat is a rarity due to its higher price tag.
"This is the only meal I get meat, and Thursday is the last day of the week I can get it," Martin said.
That's soon to change, though.
Starting one week from today, on May 8, the Fulton Soup Kitchen will be open on Fridays during its regularly scheduled time from 5-6 p.m. The soup kitchen will kick off its first Friday with a visit from the Little Caesars Love Kitchen, which will serve free pizza out of a fully operational semi truck.
Lori Collins, Fulton Soup Kitchen president, said feeding people on Fridays was a thought that weighed on her heart for a while, but she wasn't sure when the right time to begin would be. Eventually, Collins said, she knew it needed to be done because "three days is a long time to be hungry."
"I realize that from Thursday to Monday - that's a long time," Collins said. "And some of these folks, they come in and say that's the only meal they've had that day. So, I think, if that's the only meal they've had that day, are they getting a meal on Friday, Saturday and Sunday?"
According to the 2013 Missouri Hunger Atlas, 12.2 percent of Callaway County households are food uncertain - meaning they are unsure of when they will receive their next meal and how much food they will eat. The percentage of food uncertain households with children is higher at 22.7. Of Callaway County children in public schools, 85 percent are eligible and participate in the National School Lunch Program, eating free or reduced-price lunches. The atlas also states that 8.7 percent of Callawegians 64 and older are below the poverty level.
Martin said she cooks for her self on the weekends, but some of her friends cannot make meals for themselves. One of her friends who is elderly and has a hard time walking, she said, walks to the soup kitchen for dinner and takes home food for her immobile husband.
Collins said the elderly is one of the demographics the soup kitchen sees, but there are also families with young children, disabled and handicapped. Adding Fridays to the schedule, Collins said, is because of an increased need.
The Missouri Hunger Atlas also states Callaway County's performance - ability to feed its hungry - is very high. Collins said the community has constantly stepped up when the soup kitchen has been in need, and she's hoping people will do so again, asking for more volunteers to cover shifts throughout the week.
"I feel strongly that it's everybody's job in community to care for each other," she said. "I don't have a lot, but what I do have is the ability to make a dinner or help somebody out with something, and I know other people can do that too. I think a community that works together has no needs ... I just feel like I do my part, you do your part, everybody does their part and everybody is taken care of. I'm a Christian and I feel like God says, "Do your part and I'll take care of the rest.' That's all He's asked me."
Volunteering, she added, is one of the most rewarding activities a person can do in life.
"Your life is stressful and it's tiring, but when you take the time do something for someone else and you give a little bit of your time, a little bit of your energy, you go home refreshed and energized," Collins said.
Collins said she approached the Fulton Housing Authority a couple months ago with the idea to extend to Fridays and received support. The Housing Authority provides the soup kitchen its space at the John C. Harris Community Center and utilities free of charge.
"The Fulton Housing Authority sees the value in us making sure the community is well fed and healthy, because a healthy person does better in society and can contribute," Collins said. "Somebody who's hungry - that's all they think about."
The Fulton Soup Kitchen serves a Crock-Pot lunch at noon Monday-Friday beginning next week. The lunch is self serve and Collins said lunch is finished when the food is gone from the slow cooker. Next week, the soup kitchen will be open its normal hours 5-6 p.m. Monday-Friday.