The Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen relocates after their lease was cancelled

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- After serving 40 years at the Salvation Army, the Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen is relocating to a new home after feeding the community for decades.

The Soup Kitchen Executive Director, Merry Stover says the kitchen plans to move after their lease was cancelled in February forcing the organization to find a new space quickly to ensure no one goes hungry during the transition.

”It's a pretty big transition. We lost our lease A place where we've been for 40 years partnering with the Salvation Army and only have two months to figure out what we're doing and going. We've been fortunate enough to land a building that is close to where we need to be, a good location for us. The owners have okay’d the sale. Said Stover “We're just waiting on, you know, paperwork, crossing eyes, dotting T's, inspections and stuff like that. And then we'll be moving.”

The Benton Harbor Salvation Army provided a statement to showcase how they plan to support the kitchen in this time of need.

“It has been a blessing to serve and celebrate our partnership with the Soup Kitchen, and we were heartbroken to inform them that because the area they leased is affected, they would have to look for a new location. They understand the situation, and The Salvation Army will continue to collaborate with The Soup Kitchen as well as the other organizations in SW Michigan to help those in need.”

With a tight deadline the non-profit was able to secure a new home on West Main Street.

The new location will replace the Benton Harbor staple “Lark’s BBQ” on Main Street, just a few blocks away from the current kitchen.

Renovations are needed before they can start serving hot meals there; they have plans to continue serving sack lunches during the transition, similar to what they did during the pandemic.

“We'll have to reconstruct the whole kitchen over there and all of that. But we will not stop serving.” said Stover “The soup kitchen is important, not just for food. A lot of people really do need food. That's a real need daily for a lot of people we feed, they may not get another meal today.”

They have been searching for a new home for over 5 years with them continuously running into problems with kitchens, zoning, and lack of funding.

The new building is a fresh start, but they will need major renovations before the soup kitchen can fully re-open.

If you would like to donate to The Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen to assist them with reaching their fundraising goal that way, they are able to continue providing resources to those who need it the most.

The soup kitchen has plans to reopen by May 1st and the Salvation Army will operate normally where people can continue to go for support.