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Free
Nutritious Meals
"Besides
the homeless, many of the individuals who line up for meals are seniors or the working
poor. Some of them have two jobs and still can't make ends meet so they come here to get a hot meal and enjoy a little conversation.
They're not all men either. Women come, and sometimes even whole families. Everyone is welcome." Maggie
Who
We Serve
Why There Is A Need
The Program
Our Location
How You Can Help
Contact the Director
Who We Serve
There is a misconception that only the homeless and the mentally ill come to soup kitchens for meals. While that may have been true a few years ago, those lining up today are just as likely to be unemployed day laborers, retired persons, young men and women unable to find jobs, or recent immigrants who have jobs but who still can’t make ends meet.
Soup Kitchen meals are available to anyone in need. No one is ever turned away. |
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Why
There Is A Need
Although
Westchester County is one of the nation’s wealthiest
counties, it contains large and persistent pockets of poverty.
- Food-P.A.T.C.H.
estimates that one-quarter of all Westchester residents
currently receive some form of food assistance.
- Westchester’s
per capita homeless rate is twice that of New York City.
- Cost
of living adjustments put Westchester’s poverty line
at $30,000 for a family of four, but individuals earning
$8.00 per hour for a 40-hour week, well above New York’s
$6.75 per hour minimum wage, still only make $16,640 annually
and find it difficult to make ends meet.
- Unemployment
rates in the county remain high at 4.6%.
- Demand for Soup Kitchen meals has been increasing 10% annually for the past three years.
- The GCCC Soup Kitchen
and GCCC Open Arms men’s shelter are the only places
in White Plains where free mid-day meals are regularly served
to the needy.
The Program
The GCCC Soup Kitchen was first opened in the early 1970’s when parishioners of Grace Church began to provide soup and sandwiches to their hungry neighbors from their Parish Hall in the heart of White Plains, New York.
The mission of the Soup Kitchen then, as it is now, was to provide a free, nutritionally balanced, mid-morning meal to anyone in need, five days a week and on holidays.
Meals are served from 10:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. |
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The Soup Kitchen feeds between 50 and 125 individuals daily. This year, 30,000 meals will be served- - 4,000 will be holiday meals served at Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, Memorial Day, Presidents’ Day and July 4th- - and hundreds more will be delivered to shut-ins. For those who need them, sandwiches or canned goods are available for take-home each day, and on Fridays individuals are welcome to take enough food to last for the weekend. The program has a warehouse for storing food, which greatly enhances our ability to distribute food to clients.
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Soup Kitchen services extend beyond providing food to the hungry. Our bilingual staff disseminates information about job openings and public assistance programs and provides referrals to GCCC and other social services to help clients get back on their feet.
The Soup Kitchen also provides donated clothing and toiletries to individuals on a regular basis. Every winter, warm clothing such as coats, hats and gloves are set out on a table in the parish hall and clients are invited to help themselves to anything they need.
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Another less tangible benefit of the Soup Kitchen is the provision of companionship and compassion for the needy in a safe, secure environment. Individuals who come to the Soup Kitchen often stay after they have finished their meal to chat with friends and to enjoy the sense of camaraderie that is missing from so many of their lives.
Funding for the Soup Kitchen is provided by donations from a wide variety of sources including: community organizations, religious organizations, corporations, schools and individuals. |
Our Location
Grace Church Parish House- First Floor
33 Church Street, White Plains, NY
Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
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How
You Can Help
- Donations of money and food are welcome
- Volunteers are needed to help in the soup kitchen weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- Volunteers are needed to help serve holiday meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter.
- In-kind donations of paper goods (plates, bowls & napkins), plastic glasses, plastic cutlery and Styrofoam cups are always needed.
- Donations of warm winter coats, sweaters, gloves and boots in good condition are also accepted for distribution at the Soup Kitchen.
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Contact
the Director
Director: Alice Conrad
Phone: (914) 949-3098 ext. 100
Coordinator:
Maggie Serrano
Phone: (914) 949-2874 ext. 24 Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m.
- 2:00 p.m.
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