Community Soup Kitchen Ups Its Game

The Community Soup Kitchen served 237 visitors an Independence Day meal of grilled hotdogs, rice and beans, bread, and ice cream on Friday.

It may have been an official holiday. But since the Covid-19 pandemic began, CSK hasn’t missed a beat. It has stepped up to a new challenge.

With it being the beginning of a new month, many regular visitors did not stop by on Friday, causing the grab and go line to be more steady than usual.

Just last week the team of volunteers distributed about 250 – 300 meals per day.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Community Soup Kitchen has not missed a single scheduled distribution day. The soup kitchen has remained open longer than scheduled to feed those in need due to the pandemic.

Robert Jackson, the dining room manager & community service coordinator, and Executive Director David O’Sullivan have each worked at the soup kitchen for years — O’Sullivan since 1987, Jackson since 2007.

Before joining the soup kitchen team, Jackson worked in the Southern Connecticut State University dining hall for 20 years. Jackson has experience in culinary arts, human services, and social work. ​“I enjoy this because its everything I need in one,” he said.

Jackson was introduced to the kitchen unexpectedly 13 years ago by a friend who promised to take him out to lunch. Jackson’s friend brought him to the soup kitchen, which was the first time Jackson had visited one in his life. ​“I didn’t eat but I interacted with some of the people, even ended bumping into people I hadn’t seen in years,” Jackson said.

While at the soup kitchen Jackson witnessed a verbal altercation happen between a visitor and soup kitchen member and decided to step in to put an end to it. ​“After I checked on her, I apologized and she handed me an application,” he said. ​“Ever since I took on this commitment I’ve been all about getting meals out. Whatever it takes.”

O’Sullivan joined the soup kitchen team 33 years ago to offer himself to ​“valuable and necessary” work. ​“I feel it’s living my faith,” O’Sullivan said.

Raised in the suburbs and trained in greenhouse management, O’Sullivan found his place at the soup kitchen serving the community.

The soup kitchen has always offered to-go meals to its visitors. But before Covid-19 many chose enjoyed sitting down in the dining room area of the Christ Church building, which seated about 55 to eat the free meals.

The soup kitchen is committed to offering more than meals to New Haveners. Volunteers provide visitors with a resource sheet listing the soup kitchens dates with additional services like blood pressure screening, housing information, veteran services, and access to a local doctor and nurse.

Now the soup kitchen does all of its services out of the back entrance of the kitchen and dining area. Visitors can walk up the driveway of the entrance and grab one of the meals off a food cart parked in the back entrance doorway. Water and bread leftovers are also offered each day.

The kitchen is open every day except Wednesday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A contactless breakfast is served on Saturdays from 8 a.m to 9:45 a.m.

A limit of seven people is allowed in the kitchen. All indoor dining services are suspended until further notice.

Chef & Kitchen Manager Harold Glass begins cooking the meals around 7 a.m each day until noon. At 10:30 the team packages the meals in bags and arranges about 100 on the food cart at a time.

Since its establishment in 1977, the soup kitchen has helped homeless visitors from all of New Haven, most from the Downtown area. Since the pandemic volunteers said they have had visitors who aren’t homeless and just need a free meal while on break working Downtown.

The back entrance at 84 Broadway is beside the Bank of America drive-through ATM.

When Covid hit New Haven, the soup kitchen did not consider closing. Despite there being some uncertainty with food supplies in March, the soup kitchen made use of all they had in storage and got in contact with additional suppliers. ​“If we couldn’t do it here, I believe we all would be down to set up right on that curb to serve,” said Jackson.

In March and April, the soup kitchen received large donations of Koffee? sandwiches from two Yale organizations after they weren’t able to host events that were organized in advance.

The soup kitchen also receives a donation of chicken from KFC each week. Leftover chicken from yesterday’s donation was also served to visitors today.

The soup kitchen has been managing with limited volunteers as many of their regular were seniors. 

Both disposable and reusable masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer were offered to visitors in need of them.