The history of soup kitchens in America can be traced back to the year 1929 with the effects of a growing depression. When soup kitchens first appeared, they were run by churches or private charities and served mostly soup and bread. Soup was economical because water could be added to serve more people. Soup kitchens continue to exist for the homeless and struggling families across America.

The Saint Augustine Soup Kitchen was founded by Francis Hubbard as his deaconate project in the mid to late 1970’s. He was a member of St. Augustine parish and the soup kitchen has been a parish project since its founding, although the soup kitchen maintains its own funding and governance structure. Francis sought out and was given financial help from the St. Vincent de Paul Society and they have considered the soup kitchen as one of their outreach projects as well.

After Francis was forced to relinquish management of the soup kitchen due to failing health, Steve and Peg Lueke stepped forward and took over operations. They recruited volunteers to make and serve soup, a different team for each of the three days. Maurice Roberts coordinated the Monday team, Rose McCauliff the Wednesday team, and Earl Fisher on Friday. Steve and Peg organized different cooking teams for each day of the month that the kitchen was open and many folks from different parishes all over the city became involved.

Steve and Peg had to step aside in the mid 80’s and we tried a succession of paid coordinators until 1990. This did not work out well either financially or operationally, so we established a board of directors which has supervised the soup kitchen operation since that time. Peter Smith was named the soup kitchen director and he facilitates the biannual board meetings. The board consists of representatives from each team, two at-large members, and our spiritual director, Fr. Len Collins. Our fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30.

Staffed by volunteers from throughout our community, the St. Augustine Soup Kitchen serves those in need (many of whom are working poor from the neighborhood) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11-12:30.  We prepare and offer soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bread and sweets as available, fruit, seasonal produce and a cold drink. Supplies are purchased from Stanz Food Services, Indiana Restaurant Buyers Network (IRBN), and the St. Joseph County Food Bank. We also receive donations of food from the USDA, as well as from several local farmers, Holy Cross Village, area businesses and churches.

2016-17 has been another busy year for us, with increased expenses as well as need among our guests. During our last fiscal year we served 46,836 cups of soup, with $31,100 in expenses. Expenses include food purchases, supplies, and nominal donations to our host St. Augustine Parish to defray facility costs.

The Soup Kitchen supports itself through donations of money and food from a number of benefactors near and far. Some benefactors who pass away ask for donations to the Soup Kitchen in lieu of flowers.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Peter Smith, psmith@saintmarys.edu, 574-289-2126 (H) or 574-532-3720 (C).