The Soup Shack will be opening their doors to the community this winter for the first time.
The Feeding Windsor Essex team has completed renovations on the Street Angels Soup Shack, which is a mobile soup kitchen that operates out of a revamped trailer.
They will begin serving clients the beginning of next week from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Soup Shack will be open seven days a week in the evenings where anyone in the community can stop in for a hot bowl of food and something warm to drink to sustain them until food is available the following morning.
Merrisa Mills, Program Director for Street Angels by Feeding Windsor Essex, says volunteers will also be able to help individuals make phone calls, provide them with essential supplies such as warming items, and literature outlining resources available in the community.
She says why they chose for the Shack to be open in the evenings.
"The last shelter, soup kitchen, or homelessness day program serves their last meal at about 6:30 p.m. And there is not another meal available to these people until the next morning. So, that's quite a long time to go without food."
She says they are feeling great about being able to start up this new program.
"We really believe in not duplicating services, and instead filling gaps where existing services aren't. So, to be able to do that and to fulfill our mission, it feels great, to see it come to fruition is amazing."
Street Angels will re-evaluate in March 2023 to see where funding and resources are at for the program.
She says the Soup Shack will be open daily throughout the winter months.
"We guesstimated that we would need about $15,000 to serve 40 to 50 people a day, seven days a week. So, we'll see how far that gets us. But with this kind of thing, I anticipate that we could have up to 100 people served in a day."
The Soup Shack will begin serving clients starting Monday, November 21 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily in the parking lot at Throne of Grace Church.
Those interested in volunteering or donating to Street Angels can contact them by phone at 519-915-2377 or by email at streetangelswindsor@gmail.com.
-with files from AM800's Rob Hindi