Serving hope one bowl at a time

MOSES LAKE - Cleo Stevens is petite but her goals are not.

The farm wife, 4-H leader, and church choir director helped kick start a free soup kitchen three years ago and has seen it grow with each successive year since.

Before the soup kitchen began, Stevens felt that Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church was not doing enough outreach to the poor, needy and homeless in the area, and decided to ask if she could start an effort to change that.

With the blessing of the parish priest, Stevens attended each mass and asked for volunteers.

"At the end of the weekend, I had 35," Stevens said with a smile.

The number of volunteers has dwindled some but there are still 20 who regularly help prepare and serve soup and sandwiches every Thursday.

Stevens said she has divided the group into two teams of 10 but that there are some volunteers who show up every week.

"We have formed such a tight group," Stevens said.

The number of people who show up for a meal varies from week-to-week but early February saw the largest crowd yet - 60 people.

"We filled and emptied all of the tables twice," Stevens said.

For her part, Stevens said she's not much of a soup-maker. So, she makes sure she greets every person who comes through for a meal by their first name.

"It's up to me to remember their names and make them feel at home," Stevens said. "We never ask last names."

Over time the soup kitchen has expanded and now offers showers, clean clothing, and hygiene bags, in addition to a meal and company.

Stevens said the hardest part of the outreach mission has been finding the homeless in the community.

"It's really hard to reach the homeless," Stevens said.

She has put out flyers and contacted as many local organizations as she can find, she said.

Stevens also stressed that the soup kitchen is not just for those in need.

"We don't care who comes. If people come for the company, to have someone to talk to while they eat, that's great," Stevens said.

Stevens hopes the soup kitchen and the peripheral outreach involved will continue to grow into a larger and larger presence in the community. She said she hopes to see a meal a day, every day, served somewhere for those who need it.

But until then, she said, she will keep up with her current efforts.

"We just evolve. One thing goes to another thing goes to another thing," Stevens said.

To attend the soup kitchen, or to volunteer, contact Cleo Stevens at 509-765-3083, or stop in at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, 200 N. Dale Rd., Moses Lake, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursdays.