Holts Summit Soup Kitchen feeds more than hunger

Elaine Leslie, a volunteer with the Holts Summit Soup Kitchen, packages sorted cookies to be handed out at their meal Sept. 7 at the Civic Center in Holts Summit. The soup kitchen provides 130-150 free meals every Tuesday and Thursday. (Garrett Fuller/News Tribune)
Elaine Leslie, a volunteer with the Holts Summit Soup Kitchen, packages sorted cookies to be handed out at their meal Sept. 7 at the Civic Center in Holts Summit. The soup kitchen provides 130-150 free meals every Tuesday and Thursday. (Garrett Fuller/News Tribune)

For some, hunger is a desire for more than food. It can also be a desire for community.

Since its founding in 2008, the Holts Summit Soup Kitchen has fed both for countless people.

Without any requirements or paperwork, anyone can receive free meals at the soup kitchen on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Civic Center, 282 Greenway Drive in Holts Summit.

The Holts Summit Soup Kitchen wasn't the first of its kind to feed people in Callaway County. Before bringing the idea to Holts Summit, Helen Manson and her husband, Donald, volunteered at the Fulton Soup Kitchen. Donald helped start the Fulton Soup Kitchen in the 1990s.

To bring the idea to Holts Summit, Helen kicked off the foundation for the soup kitchen by hosting a now-annual "Soup-er Bowl" fundraiser on Super Bowl weekend at St. Andrew Catholic Church, which is the only fundraiser for the soup kitchen.

From there, the soup kitchen started serving 11-13 people in the Lions Club. However, they quickly realized the Lions Club couldn't always accommodate them.

"Their place was always so busy with the good stuff they do," Helen said.

Helen worked with the city of Holts Summit to secure use of the Civic Center. The move allowed them to serve more people and expand operation from weekly to twice a week.

Since moving to the Civic Center in 2009, the Soup Kitchen has expanded to feed 130-150 people every Tuesday and Thursday. Darrel Brauner, a volunteer, said the COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on attendance. Before the pandemic, he said they typically served 40-50 people.

Despite the increase and issues caused by the pandemic, the crew of volunteers were able to keep the soup kitchen running.

"With COVID, we shut down as far as coming in and eating, but we never totally closed," Brauner said. "It was quite an ordeal."

Brauner said meals were take-out only earlier in the pandemic, with meals delivered by volunteers to vehicles in the parking lot. He said they have resumed allowing people to dine-in at the Civic Center.

The Soup Kitchen also doubles as a community gathering place, as some use it to socialize. Brauner said one example was widows who used the meals as a way to make new connections.

"(T)hey would come and be in groups where they could communicate, have a blast, talk to people and kind of get back in the world instead of sitting in a tiny apartment," he said.

Feeding the desire of community has been a goal of the soup kitchen since the beginning, Helen said.

"At first, we didn't call it a soup kitchen," she said. "We called it a community meal. Then that didn't have a good ring to it. I said, 'if we just keep saying everyone is welcome, then that's the main thing.'"

The soup kitchen not only feeds the community, but itself is a community effort. The soup kitchen is entirely run by volunteers. Brauner said donations are regularly accepted from community members and local businesses alike.

"The great support we get from the church (St. Andrew Catholic Church), the businesses around here and the individuals is just phenomenal," he said.

More information about the Holts Summit Soup Kitchen can be found on its Facebook page at facebook.com/HoltsSummitSoupKitchen, by email at [email protected] or by calling 573-301-8181 or 573-619-2939.