This October, the small staff at the Laramie Soup Kitchen served nearly 600 more meals than last year during the same month. Executive Director Emily Madden says they’re reaching out to more people, and want to make sure people have healthy food options. This week’s menu included a bacon mushroom and vegetarian cheese quiche, fresh garden salad and desserts. She says that an average of 50 individuals come to the basement of St. Matthew’s Cathedral every weekday to eat, socialize or stock up for the weekend.
"As we’re getting into the holiday season we really want to make sure that people have food, can come in here and have a meal with their families," says Madden, "and we encourage people to ask for a take home meal for family members who can’t make it or for kids who are in school."
Madden says more outreach may be attracting a more diverse clientele.
"Usually when I talk about the soup kitchen the first thing I hear is ‘Oh, I didn’t know there were that many homeless people in Laramie, because there’s a lot of misconceptions of what a soup kitchen is and who they serve. We do have a few truly homeless people, but the majority are retired people, or people who are underemployed or are unemployed and between jobs. And like we say, everybody’s welcome, and there’s no questions asked."
The kitchen is open for donations on weekdays from 8-2pm, and for homemade meals and take-home lunches from 11am-1:45pm.
