Lethbridge Soup Kitchen celebrates 35th anniversary

“It just kept growing and a number of churches became involved and for many churches, it started off being that they would come once a month. So, a church group would take responsibility for say, the second Tuesday of every month or something like that and that continued to the point that today, we have 700-plus volunteers that volunteer with us.”

He joined back in July 2017, replacing former ED Joyce Crittenden who had been with the kitchen since the beginning. Ginther has built on Crittenden’s legacy and has helped introduce some new initiatives, including the breakfast meal program.

Last month, it was announced that the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen had teamed up with Streets Alive Mission to move Streets Alive’s evening meal program to the soup kitchen’s larger facility.

In addition to celebrating the kitchen’s 35^th anniversary, October 1 also marks the start of the evening meal team-up project.

“It’s exciting for us that in conjunction with our 35^th [anniversary] that we could also introduce the evening with Streets Alive,” Ginther said.

CONTINUED GROWTH

Along with feeding those without homes, Ginther said they receive about $65,000 worth of food every month, which allows them to provide food for some low-income senior’s residences in Lethbridge.

They’ve also recently started delivering food to Harbour House, an emergency shelter for women and children who are fleeing a violent relationship.

Through some funding, Ginther said they’ve been able to add in new lighting, a new sound system and other improvements to the soup kitchen to provide a safer, more welcoming space.

“One of the things that I have introduced since I first started is that we need to find a way to restore and respect the dignity of individuals,” he commented.

Ginther, who prefers the term ‘person without a home’ as opposed to a ‘homeless person’, said that he always tells people that when they meet others, particularly someone without a home, to look them in the eye.

“[When] you make eye contact with people, you are equal for that moment,” he said.

He added that they strive to always provide a hot meal and that they’ve never delivered a cold meal.

“They probably eat better than you and I do, which I don’t apologize for for a moment. We just really try our best to treat them with respect and wish we didn’t need to do it. We wish that we had a society where this issue wasn’t there, but it is and as long as it is, we as an organization will continue to do our best to provide for the people that come to us.”

Ginther said that a major part of the reason the soup kitchen has been able to succeed this long is due to the hard work and dedication of volunteers, noting two volunteers in their 90s named August and Anne. He said the duo has been volunteering every month for the last 35 years.

“That’s just an example of that kind of commitment that we have from people that serve with us and we’re thankful for that and we couldn’t do it without them.”

For more details on the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen, including how you can volunteer, visit their Facebook page at soupbridge.org.

The soup kitchen will hold a special 35^th anniversary celebration from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1.

by Justin Goulet

Lethbridge Soup Kitchen celebrates 35th anniversary

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