New soup kitchen building opens in Benton Harbor, dedicated to serving the community

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- A new soup kitchen opened its doors as of Oct. 1 in Benton Harbor. The kitchen is a 46-year-old nonprofit organization that serves a free noon meal every day. All you have to do to get a free meal is have good behavior.

The organization's new building gives more space, storage, and a place to park its van, making day-to-day work easier.

"Yes, the soup kitchen is 46 years old now, which is I don't know if you know this, but the average nonprofit in the U.S. lasts 10 years, so that's you know except for the big boys like Salvation Army, United Way, and all that. But that's a long, long time for a local small nonprofit. We're small, and people classify nonprofits by budget. If you classified us by service, we're huge. Budget, we're small." says Merry Stover, Executive Director for the Soup Kitchen Inc.

Soup Kitchen is important because it supports people facing hardship and gives guests a place where they feel welcome and belong in. The soup kitchen needed a former food-service space close to the people it serves, since transportation can be difficult.

"For the community. We're helping some of the poorest members of the community live better, do better. For some people, it's a chance. It's not a handout. It's a hand up for a lot of people. But a lot of folks are just doing the best they can and can't make ends meet." says Stover.

Doors open at the kitchen at 11 a.m. and serve patrons from 11:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m.