Salvation Army adds one day to soup kitchen operation

  The CNMI Salvation Army’s soup kitchen will add a day of meal service starting next week to accommodate its increasing number of clients.

Ministry leader Wayne Gillespie disclosed this after receiving a $42,500 donation from Bank of Hawaii yesterday.

Gillespie said the soup kitchen currently serves free lunch meals every Saturday from 11am to 1pm. Starting next week, the kitchen will expand its meal service to Friday so more people can come in during the two-day operation.

The soup kitchen is located on the ground floor of the building across Hopwood Jr. High School in Chalan Piao.

“I am very pleased to announce that beginning next Friday we’re going to open up the soup kitchen for an additional day of operation. This is a result of this generous donation we received from BOH,” Gillespie told Saipan Tribune during the donation rites at the bank’s main office yesterday.

According to BOH senior vice president John Sheather, the bank has a strong relationship with the Salvation Army for many years, particularly in Hawaii. Ever since it expanded to Saipan, Sheather said that BOH has been consistently making donations to help the Salvation Army enhance its programs such as the soup kitchen.

A couple of years ago, BOH also donated $75,000 to the Salvation Army. He said BOH is more than pleased to again provide additional help to the nonprofit organization.

The soup kitchen operation survives through donations and grants. With the BOH donation, Gillespie estimates that a couple of hundred more clients may be served by the soup kitchen in the coming months.

Gillespie said the number of clients they serve every week varies. There are times when they serve an average of 60, there are times when it’s a bit less, but he noted some instances when they served over 300 clients in the past.

Besides BOH, the soup kitchen is also generously supported by businesses like Dickerson & Quinn, Foremost, and Triple J Super Fresh Market, other agencies, and other donors who want to remain anonymous, according to Gillespie.

He said that every Saturday, they receive food donations from companies like Hyatt Regency Saipan and Ebisuya Bakery. These food donations, he said, are important contribution to meals that they serve each Saturday. The soup kitchen, he said, also has about 15 volunteers each week.

Gillespie said they are planning a major fundraising activity to build up their support base in the CNMI.

The soup kitchen has been in existence for 14 months now.

By Moneth Deposa
Reporter