After two years of renovations, a kitchen project at The Salvation Army in Prince Rupert, B.C., was completed in March, increasing capacity and improving the ability to serve nutritious food. The project, funded by The Salvation Army, the Prince Rupert Aboriginal Community Services Society, a grant from Farm Credit Canada and $450,000 in funding from the Prince Rupert Port Authority, also brings a new food bank into the same building.

“Our capacity to create healthy food is going to be greater,” says Captain Dawn Butt, corps officer at Prince Rupert Community Church. “We have more counter space, a walk-in refrigerator and new freezers, and we have professional grade appliances. Before the renovations, we just had household appliances, which made it challenging to serve large group meals.”

Previously, the kitchen, called “Soup for the Soul,” offered a breakfast and lunch program that ran as a take-out service during the pandemic. The renovations allowed for the addition of a dining room where people can come inside, sit and eat meals together, and where they can receive free bread daily through a partnership with Safeway. “For the last three years, people haven’t been able to connect over a meal,” says Captain Butt. “Now they are starting to again, and it is fantastic to hear the conversations and the laughter coming from the dining room.”

Clients can also access a free shelf supported by the food bank that offers items such as baking ingredients, condiments and hygiene products. In addition, the renovation funding allowed for more accessible washrooms on-site and laundry facilities for clients to wash their clothing free of charge.

The renovations launch at a critical time, as demand for food bank and meal services continues to grow in the community. People who may have previously accessed services two or three times a year are now visiting on a monthly basis, unable to manage between visits. Soup for the Soul aims to better serve these individuals while increasing the ministry unit’s ability to offer new programs and services such as cooking classes, budgeting workshops and gardening lessons.

“The name ‘Soup for the Soul’ represents a service that not only provides a nourishing meal, but also provides a way for people’s souls to connect as they join for lunch and conversation,” says Captain Butt. “It feeds the body, but also the soul.”

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