Iqaluit soup kitchen feeds body and soul

Rus Blanchet, St Jude’s outreach minister, stirs a pot of soup at the Iqaluit soup kitchen. (PHOTO BY DEAN MORRISON)

At five minutes to noon when the door opens at Iqaluit’s soup kitchen, a line of hungry people, all ready for a hot lunch, forms.

But no one eats before Rus Blanchet, St. Jude’s Anglican parish outreach minister, says a quick prayer.

The soup kitchen serves between 35 and 50 people a day, five days a week.

Its menu alternates between chicken or beef soup, made with either noodles or rice.

And the sandwiches are almost always of the ham and cheese variety.

But there’s always enough for seconds and many of the clients are able to pocket a sandwich or two to eat later.

Blanchet first arrived in Iqaluit six years ago to run its soup kitchen, which has operated in its current location next to St. Jude’s Cathedral for the past two years.

The building was constructed specifically for the soup kitchen, using federal grants, while the Anglican church donated the land.

It shares the building with the Piviniit Thrift Shop and the Niqinik Nuatsivik Food Bank.

The food bank and the thrift shop each pay rent to the soup kitchen to cover electrical and heating costs and repairs.

“It works out well having these three services in the same building,” Blanchet said. “They complement each other.”

Once utility costs are covered, any money left over goes towards buying fresh fruit for the soup kitchen’s clients.

The soup kitchen is run by the Anglican parish with an annual operating budget of about $20,000, which it receives through the City of Iqaluit.

The money goes directly towards purchasing food for the daily soup and sandwiches.

The Anglican Church pays Blanchet for his work as an outreach minister, which includes operating the soup kitchen.

But everyone else who works at the soup kitchen is a volunteer.

For Blanchet, running the soup kitchen fits perfectly with how he views the role of the church and its ability to have a positive impact on the health of the community.

Aside from the prayer said before lunch and a few religious pamphlets and brochures that are made available, there is no heavy religious presence at the soup kitchen: just a desire to serve those in need.

The soup kitchen is blessed to have two long-term volunteers who each help out regularly, Blanchet said.

Joanasie Michael has been helping out at the soup kitchen since before Blanchet took over in 2006.

Cathy Sawer has volunteered daily for the past two years and jokes that this allows her to avoid getting a real job.

A former biology professor, Sawer said that she treats everyone who steps through the door as a guest.

“What makes it so worthwhile is how thankful everyone is,” Sawer said. “I didn’t expect as sweet and pleasant a group and I just love it. It is a joy to come here to work every day.”

Although the need for a soup kitchen appears to be obvious, it does have its detractors.

The most common complaint, Blanchet said, is the soup kitchen enables people to live a lifestyle where they don’t have to work and where they can spend all of their money on alcohol and cigarettes.

But Blanchet said he passes no judgment on anyone who uses the service.

He said his only concern is that everyone in Iqaluit who needs it gets at least one meal.