Soup kitchen back on its feet

JOHN THOMPSON

There’s no need to repeat the call for second servings in Iqaluit’s soup kitchen, where the room quickly falls quiet except for the sound of chair legs scraping against the linoleum floor as men head for the line, eager to fill their bellies.

On Friday last week, the day’s fare is salami and lettuce between thick white bread, served with a styrofoam bowl full of celery soup with carrots and the odd lump of stewing meat.

“This is their only hot meal. For some, it’s their only meal of the day,” said Archdeacon John Tyrrell, who runs the soup kitchen with Garry Jones from the Salvation Army and the help of about 30 volunteers.

About 35 Iqalummiut are eating lunch this day, exclusively men. Usually there are a few women as well, Tyrrell said, and half a dozen children.

Most of the clients are either unable to work, or among Iqaluit’s working poor — people who hold part-time jobs, but still go hungry. “They just don’t have enough to provide under the circumstances,” Tyrrell said.

The charity experienced a setback three weeks ago, when sewer pipes froze and health inspectors shut down the operation.

This past Tuesday, two weeks later, the soup kitchen reopened in the building across from the Legion after Qikiqtaaluk Corp., which owns the building and leases it rent-free, spent what Tyrell reckons is about $10,000 in repairs.

By next fall, Tyrell hopes the soup kitchen will have a new home. Over the next few weeks the old mission house will be torn down, and a new building is scheduled to be built over the summer.

The City of Iqaluit’s Niksiit committee, which doles out money from various federal programs like Brighter Futures, recently recommitted funding for the soup kitchen. That comes as a blessing for the operation, which is making due with scraps left over at the end of the fiscal year.

Of the $55,000 it costs to run the soup kitchen, about $35,000 is provided through federal funding. The rest comes from donations from businesses and individuals.

The soup kitchen is open seven days a week. On weekends, they’re served a heartier meal, like lasagna. During peak months over the summer, they serve as many as 60 clients during weekdays, and 40 during the weekends, but this number falls off during the colder months.

Finding committed volunteers remains a challenge, although lately, Garry Jones said they’ve found a surge of support.