Growth and Wishlist

Thank you for taking the time to see our Growth Plan and Wish List!

Soup for the Soul has had a couple of tough years, but we continue to move the mission forward the best that we can.  After losing two comfortable and outfitted locations in local churches, we found ourselves without a home - much like many of our clients.  Then there was the pandemic, and another uncertainty of how we would continue to serve those who need us most.  Well the Haines family started this project in 1982, and now a new generation has grabbed the steering wheel and kept us on track.  We worked with the Dundalk Optimist Club and ran several "pop up" food giveaways when we did not have a home.  The new post-pandemic reality forced the volunteer leaders to adjust, and they handled the challenge.  It was through the generosity of one of our patrons that we were able to afford and move into our current location at 299 Willow Spring Road.  We also had to change the management and financial configurations of the organization to become our own 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization in 2021.  The new space is not as large as the ones we had worked in previously, and we don't have a commercial kitchen at this time.  Our operation has become more of a food pantry than what we had done in the past, but we haven't given up hope to grow to a place beyond where we were.

Plans for the future

1)  We want to get our kitchen back up and operational!  Through the generosity of the Chick-fil-a Corporation, we have been gifted a brand new electric range and oven.  Northeastern Supply gifted us the plumbing equipment and appropriate sinks for a commercial operation.  Reliability Home Services provided the labor required to do all of the plumbing work - even the unexpected need to replace pipes that were buried under the building!  

We still have a need for commercial refrigeration and freezer units, prep stations, work tables and serving line supplies.  We will also need the appropriate fire suppression and hood for the range.

2)  Our current location does not have enough room to seat the number of clients that we have served in the past.  As a temporary solution, we are looking for a tent that could be used in adverse weather conditions and picnic tables to accommodate our clients eating hot meals.

3)  How about a truck?  Right now we have to arrange pick ups from our providing partners using several volunteer pickup trucks and SUVs.  If we had our own refrigerated box trunk, we could be more efficient with our time, and better handle the volume of donations that we receive.  This addition would also allow us to become more mobile for giveaways and meal distribution!

4)  We like to dream BIG!!  We dream of obtaining a larger space where we can provide as we did in the past, and possibly provide space for some other Community Support organizations to partner with us for a more complete solution for our clients.  

The world may never be full of rainbows and unicorns, 

but we all can participate to make it a better place!