Agreement reached to continue Fulton Soup Kitchen

An agreement reached between officials at the Fulton Housing Authority and the Fulton Soup Kitchen will allow the meal service to go forward.

"We've had several meetings to work things out," said Anne Johnson, executive director of the housing authority.

The contract was signed Thursday between the housing authority, which provides space for soup kitchen meals in its John C. Harris community room, and soup kitchen officials. Changes are in the offing, however.

"We have decided it's quarterly, when we regularly will meet," Johnson said of the contract. "It will help keep lines of communication open."

In January, the soup kitchen unexpectedly shut down temporarily while representatives of both entities ironed out concerns. Among changes made were hours of operation, said Katherine Bader, president of the soup kitchen.

"We finally got it settled and got a contract signed yesterday," Bader said Friday. "The big change is the hours."

Lunches will be served Mondays through Fridays. Dinners will be served Mondays through Thursday, excluding Friday evenings. Also, the soup kitchen will not be open when Fulton schools are closed.

The soup kitchen also will be closed on national holidays: New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, and on Christmas Day.

Johnson said the soup kitchen will continue to be operated with no rent payment to the housing authority. The soup kitchen has operated meals at the Harris center for about 10 years.

The number of people served grows toward the end of each month. In January, Bader said the beginning of the month, when people receive Social Security, pension and other payments, they may serve half as many people as those served by the end of each month when perhaps 70 people are served meals a day.