Sunday isn’t just church day at Immanuel Baptist at Chapel and Day streets. It’s also soup kitchen day. Every Sunday volunteers assist Immanuel Baptist Church’s soup kitchen with serving dinner to the homeless and underprivileged from the New Haven area.
Several organizations volunteer to help at Immanuel’s soup kitchen including: Yale medical students, Friendly Society, University of New Haven, Bethel Youth Group, Trinity Evangelical, and several fraternity groups. Anywhere from 50 to 150 people line up every Sunday to be served. (To volunteer or donate food, call the church at 777‑8744.)
Jan Pettie is serving her second year as the soup kitchen’s coordinator. Her job includes securing and coordinating volunteers, ordering supplies, making sure food is cooked and served, and reporting to the Connecticut Food Bank.
“It’s most rewarding to me to see that people are fed, and when they say ‘thank you’ that is the icing on the cake,” says Pettie.
This Sunday’s meal included spagetti with meat sauce, minced fish patties, hamburger rolls, and tea. Every Sunday the kitchen gives guests bread and pastries to take home. When enough food is available, take-home dinners are given.
The crowd was on the lighter end this week, about 75. So there were plenty of pastries to take home. Some food had to be thrown away.