Cecil and Grace Bean’s Soup Kitchen

Today I volunteered at Cecil and Grace Bean’s Soup Kitchen. I have been volunteering at this place for almost a year now, and each time I go the experience gets better and better. Currently, the soup kitchen serves over 500 meals weekly, operating solely on grants and donations and by the service of volunteers.

My favorite part about the soup kitchen is preparing the food. If the kitchen is in working order, then we will cook and serve hot meals like eggs with sausage links and waffles. We also prepare “to go” bags with snacks and juice for everyone who wants them. The soup kitchen offers more than just food; in fact, it gives out toothbrushes, toilet paper, clothes, healthcare products, and much more.

My friends and I assembling the “to go” bags

St. John’s Episcopal Church in Norristown founded the soup kitchen in 1979. At that time, the only meal provided was a Saturday breakfast of oatmeal, toast, and coffee. In 1985, church leaders asked Grace Bean to run the soup kitchen. In 2015, the soup kitchen became Cecil and Grace Bean’s Soup Kitchen. One year later, Grace and her husband Cecil retired, leaving Bill Rinker the Board President and Managing Director.

Due to thousands of volunteers’ hard work and commitment since the early 1980’s, Cecil and Grace Bean’s Soup Kitchen has been able to feed the food insufficient residents of the Norristown community for forty years. Cecil and Grace Bean’s Soup Kitchen serves anyone regardless of their race, age, religion, national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or physical location.

If you live near Norristown, Pennsylvania, and want to volunteer, you can sign up here.