I recently spent a couple of days serving at the
Downtown Soup Kitchen (DSK) on 4th Ave in Anchorage. I wanted to see this great Alaska faith community service project up close and personal!
On my first tour of duty, my job was to help Ron (that's Ron and I in the picture at right) cook the soup. I did a lot of chopping, boning, slicing and stirring. We made two large pots of the hearty, meaty soup. After working all morning, I was plenty hungry myself, and I happily ate what I had been smelling for the last few hours.
In this picture, you see part of the main kitchen. Just to the right of the photographer are the two windows where food is served from noon to 1:30. The menu always includes soup. It usually also includes sandwiches, other no-cook foods, and a beverage. There is usually also dessert.
DSK is a remarkable partnership of the Anchorage faith community and businesses and organizations that provide day-old or otherwise perfectly good food that is not easily marketable. On both days I was there, a cheerful collection of volunteers from around the community were chopping, washing, making sandwiches, cooking soup, cleaning, stacking, and more...from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The working teams are led by Vicki, Becky and Diane. They start off with prayer, and then move tirelessly around all during the day with humor, gentle direction and obvious agape love for those they serve and those they serve with.
I'm not going to lie to you...it was real American work. But the fun of meeting and working with volunteers from around the community and the pleasure of serving made the hard work worth it.
The Alaskans we served come from all kinds of situations and backgrounds. Many are homeless. At the other end of the scale, some drive up because they have work and a place to live, but just don't have much economic margin. DSK doesn't ask questions.....if someone comes to the window, they get a meal and a friendly smile.
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, a shower and warm clothes are available for those that need it. This is a great place for sitting a moment out of the cold and in the warmth of encouragement and prayer for those who want it.
Two of our church family (Angelique and Sherrie) work at DSK and both are full of enthusiasm for how this ministry is serving Anchorage. The ministry is only possible with the participation of
many volunteers, and Vicki will cheerfully add you to the calendar if you can put in days here and there, or better yet, on a regular basis. Some of the volunteers work every week, others once a month. DSK volunteers are all different ages, generations, and even families working together. If you can spare some weekdays from 9:30 to 2:30, and this feels like a place you would like to serve,
contact DSK.
If this doesn't work, there are some other important ways you can participate. First, you could donate food or clothing and toiletries. Call DSK at 277-4302
for a list of what they need.
Second, there is an after-hours option where teams come in and deep clean or help
organize donated items.
Finally, you can help "End the Line". Here's what DSK says about that:
Every day literally hundreds of people come to the soup kitchen for food and drink. Every day they stand in line. In the cold, in the wind, in rain or snow. We simply don't have the space to bring people inside.
Our vision is to have a new facility that will allow us to treat our guests like we do our own families. We don't believe guests of the DSK should line up to get their one hot meal of the day. It's a small symbol of humanity, but it's time to bring folks inside. Everyone should be able to sit down to eat like the rest of us do every day.
It's time to END THE LINE, and any donation you make to DSK will help us achieve this goal.
Happily, a new facility is under construction right now as a result of a huge amount of generosity by the community and some strategic grants. In the picture at right, Angelique stands across the street from the new building. It should be completed sometime during 2012. Volunteers with construction trades experience interested in helping with interior completion are welcome.
Contact Angelique for more information about this.
I came away impressed with the energy, dedication and Alaska can-do attitude of the DSK. It's a great team and I'm glad for this opportunity to lend a hand to our neighbors in Anchorage who don't have it so good at this season in their lives.
