ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Every Thursday, people come by the hundreds to get food from the First Baptist Church in Orangeburg.
“There’s always plenty of help somehow. The Lord supplies," said soup kitchen director Jon Hare.
The soup kitchen feeds 200 people weekly.
This week, it served 90 pounds of chicken, 30 pounds of rice, 10 gallons of rice and corn, and blueberry cobbler.
“We do a good meal every week. We try to get something to somebody that’s gonna last them for a day," said Hare.
Hare has been volunteering with the soup kitchen for the past 15-20 years. He says these efforts are made possible with donations from churches, organizations, and businesses.
Plenty of volunteers come by to lend a helping hand.
“People just wanna come in from time to time and help us. Different ones that come in and they enjoy it too. I guess that’s probably why we don’t have a hard time getting help," he said.
With inflation causing a surge in prices, Hare says the soup kitchen has put a dent in the church's budget, but it's worth it. He says the community needs it now more than ever.
“Especially now they need it, with the price of everything going up so much and all that. You know, we’ve got a lot of people around that are hurting and things like that. I don’t know how many of them are homeless but there’s a few homeless and a lot of them that need it," said Hare.
The soup kitchen takes place every Thursday at 1.p.m. The church is located at 1240 Russell St, Orangeburg, SC 29115.