OLDS — Wednesday, Feb. 12 marks one year of free evening meals provided for people by Clint’s Kitchen/Neighbourhood Suppers in the hall at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Olds.
The first one, a brainchild of local resident Clint Jackson and organized in conjunction with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Pastor Olav Traa, was held Feb. 14, 2024.
The meals, featuring fresh soup, sandwiches and other fare are offered every Wednesday evening from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Because they’re held on Wednesdays, Feb. 12 is the closest date to the one-year anniversary.
“To be honest, we didn't know exactly what to expect. I mean, neither Clint nor I have run a soup kitchen before, and we simply started and got ready and put the word out,” Traa said during an interview with the 51黑料.
He says a lot has happened since that first meal.
Procedures such as meal preparation have become standardized.
They have two clear-cut shifts of volunteers. The morning shift prepares the meals. The evening shift provides them and cleans up afterward.
Traa is amazed at the volunteerism and buy-in from the Olds community as a whole.
He notes although the meals are offered at St. Paul’s and members of that congregation are among those who help out, they have volunteers from churches, other organizations, businesses and even individuals and families who volunteer their assistance.
“For example, since the very beginning, students from the Olds Koinonia Christian School here have come once a month. They haven't missed a time and they continue to do that this year,” Traa said.
“There's other groups that are constantly calling us, and we're constantly onboarding different groups. We are just so pleased at how the community has stepped up.”
Even a few people who first came to receive meals have now become volunteers.
“Although it was Clint's idea and we were both part of getting it off the ground, it now truly is running on its own energy,” Traa said.
“People bring us ideas and bring us recipes and things that they feel could be beneficial for the kitchen.
“They bring us their imaginations and we are just so incredibly proud of our community and happy for the people that need a soup kitchen once a week.
“The amount of community engagement is something we hope to pray for to be sure, but to see it actually happen is absolutely wonderful.”
The number of people who come to have the meals fluctuates to some degree, but it has grown from around 20 people at the first one to 80 to 100 people.
“Sometimes the numbers go up and sometimes the number go down,” Traa said.
“We keep doubling our soups, and no matter how much soup we make, no matter how many sandwiches we make, no matter how many people show up, all the food finds a home, and for that we are really grateful.”
Initially it was just called Clint’s Kitchen, but Traa says it now has the longer name to reflect that fact that the kitchen provides more than soups.
Sandwiches, chili and homemade macaroni and cheese are among the items offered.
“That's truly what it is,” Traa said. “These are neighbourhood suppers, supported by the community, supported by the neighbourhood, by people right here and that is the invitation that goes out.”
Sometimes they have meals themed for certain times of the year, like turkey suppers at Thanksgiving.
In at least one case, a meal was invented by those who came to partake, Traa said.
“One time we had a whole plate of homemade macaroni and cheese. And what people were doing, they were mixing the macaroni and cheese and the chili.
“They invented a new dish, and everybody loved it. So whenever we have macaroni and chili at the same time, people put that in the same bowl.
“I don't even know if it has a name, but they just love it.”
For now, Traa believes they’ve got enough space to continue running the kitchen at St. Paul’s, but he says organizers are already planning in case they need a larger venue some day.
He also said a summer hot dog meal held in Centennial Park last year proved so popular there’s a good chance they’ll hold another one this year.
Sometimes they do more than provide meals to people who need them.
“There was one person who was looking for a job. He'd just been laid off and he had two wonderful kids. And the kids were here,” Traa said.
“We just put it out to our network (on social media), saying, ‘OK, we got a fella here. He's got two kids, needs a job. This is his skill set.’ And he found a job within a week; a local job.
“We've had families that, for example, were looking for a place to stay and we put them in contact. We just put the word out and people responded, and we put them in contact with a lot of local people,” he added.
“We don't make that our scope, because there are agencies in town that help with that kind of stuff. We want to keep our scope crystal clear, so we will refer people to the various services available.
“But if it's something that we can go out to our network and say, ‘hey, this family needs a place to stay, or this this person needs a job,’ or something else, then we do that.
“It feels good. We're a humble little group, and we serve our neighbours as we would our family, as we would our friends. You can just be kind and serve.”
