Here is a quick and easy reference point for the basics of our organization.
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- The Charity was founded by a group of “kids” in their 20′s in January of 2010 who wanted to give back to the community of Dekalb.
- Feed’em Soup has been providing meals on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month for the last 15 months as of December 2011.
- We feed between 120 to 150 people at each meal, consisting primarily of low income or single parent families and senior citizens.
- Attendance at our meals has tripled since our inception. We are a young, but swiftly growing organization.
- Not a single person gets paid to run the organization. It’s a labor of love for almost 30 core volunteers that work on the project on a regular basis
- In addition to a free community meal, we also offer a Food Pantry, Clothing Closet and a Children’s Program designed to promote literacy that consists of stories, art projects and other activities.
- in October we moved in to our own permanent location in the heart of downtown Dekalb. Previously we borrowed space from a local church.
- In order to move into our location, we had to complete $16,000 worth of renovations to bring the building up to code.
- Earlier this year, we won a brand new Toyota Sienna in the Toyota 100 Cars for Good program to help shuttle food and guests to and from our meals
- Our idea is simple, but we make every effort to be different. Our meals are served at tables by a server restaurant style. Now that we are in our new location we are slowly converting from paper plates to real china and silverware, we have live music and a coffee bar and a shuttle service to take people to and from our meals that do not have transportation. We treat our guests like they are paying customers.
- We have often been credited with inspiring teenagers and young adults – an often untapped market for non profits – to get involved in their community.
- We are completely funded through the donations of local businesses and private citizens in Dekalb county. We receive no state or government funding. Every month our core volunteers have to fundraise to buy our food, pay our rent and insurance and put gas in our vehicle. Our community fully supports our organization so we can in turn support the community.
- All meals are cooked fresh with the freshest ingredients possible. We put an emphasis on not only food that tastes good, but that is also good for you.
- Our meals are open to the public and are always free of charge. We define “need” broadly. Some people attend our meals for the economic savings. Others attend our meals for the social aspect. Others come to save the time they’d spend cooking and cleaning with friends and family. Donation baskets are available for those that are able. We’ve fed everyone from local radio personalities and politicians to the truly homeless that haven’t had a good meal in days. They all sit at the same tables and share in the same conversations.
- We accept donations of all types. Money, Food, Clothing, Kitchen Equipment, Art Supplies, construction and building materials to continue renovating the new building. All of them go right back into our community to benefit our community. We are the definition of a community project.
