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The Mission of Wayside is to increase access to food for those in need in Southern Maine by providing a system for community based volunteers who serve prepared meals where such meals are needed, and by collaborating with other hunger agencies in developing an efficient network for the collection and equitable distribution of food. Wayside shall be guided in this mission by a deep compassion for our common humanity.

Description:
The Wayside Evening Soup Kitchen is currently in its nineteenth year serving hot, nutritious evening meals to the homeless and poor of Greater Portland.
The Soup Kitchen is open from 11:30 a.m. until 12:20 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., seven nights a week, 365 days a year. The kitchen is located at the Community Resource Center, 252 Oxford St. in Portland.
The Wayside Soup Kitchen is comprised of over 60 churches, organizations and businesses. We have over 1,800 volunteers that work in the Soup Kitchen serving an average of 240 people each evening. This past year we served over 117,000 meals. Even though we are a soup kitchen, we do not serve soup. We feel that because we are an evening soup kitchen, that the poor need something more substantial than a bowl of soup to get through the night. Most of our meals consist of meat and potatoes or casseroles. We have been committed to keeping our cost down. We spend about $1.17 per meal including administrative costs.

History:
In January of 1986, a core group of lay leaders from area churches met and decided that there was a need for evening meals to feed the homeless and poor in Portland. Knowing it would take the effort of many churches, they sent letters to other churches and invited them to the next meeting. The response was good and the people at that meeting decided they would try to form a soup kitchen. The group worked hard and fast. Having no experience in operating a soup kitchen they were lead largely by the hand of GOD. They set April 14th, 1986 as the first day to open. At the time the soup kitchen had only 11 churches and very little money but lots of FAITH.

On April 14th, 1986 THE WAYSIDE EVENING SOUP KITCHEN served their first meals at the Immanuel Baptist Church, 156 High St. Portland. Wayside was serving 3 evening meals a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to between 40-100 people each evening. Each church, either by themselves or in conjunction with another church, was responsible for the preparation and serving of one meal per month as well as some financial support.

The next year the soup kitchen grew with 15 churches and over $5,000 in the bank. Incorporated in 1987 The Wayside Evening Soup Kitchen became a non-profit, 501c(3) federal tax-exempt corporation. Its purpose was to provide a nutritious evening meal to the homeless and poor.

On January 1, 1991 the soup kitchen expanded to five nights a week Monday through Friday at two locations, Immanuel Baptist Church, 156 High St. in Portland Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and Williston West Church, 32 Thomas St. in Portland on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with 34 sponsoring churches.

In 1994 we help found the Community Resource Center and expanded to seven nights a week, to include Saturday and Sunday.

In February 1999 we started the Food Rescue Program and this year we will rescue about 2,000,000 pounds of food.

Contact person: Susan Violet, Program Director, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (207)775-4939

Address:

252 Oxford Street Portland, ME 04101 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.waysidesoupkitchen.org

Directions:

Directions from the Ferry Terminal to The Wayside Soup Kitchen: Go up Franklin St Arterial to Cumberland Ave., go left on Cumberland Ave to Elm St. go right on Elm St., go down one block to Oxford St. go left on. . . (more)   Nearest Bus Stop: 2, 4, 5, <1 minute walk For maps or information, please see http://www.portlandmaine.worldweb.com/Transportation/PublicTransit

Miscellaneous Information

This agency has United Way funded programs
	Yes
The agency places volunteers in these categories:
	Families, Children under 5, ages 5 - 10, ages 11 -15, ages 15 - 18, Physically disabled, Developmentally delayed, Court Mandated, Groups, Adults

Overall Experience   
Learning experince

posted by lidufty99 on April 24, 2003