MIMICO passerbys are treated to free soup and clothing if in need. Photos by Tom Godfrey.
Christmas may be a time for giving, but the folks at Mimico’s Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church have been feeding the needy all year round.
On this brisk morning members of the church’s Bowls and Blessings program are providing free piping hot Turkish Lentil Soup from a table outside their 2379 Lake Shore Blvd. church to those who are homeless or hungry.
CHURCH VOLUNTEERS serving soup to the community on a cold day.
Program coordinator Emma Latham says the soup is dished out twice a week, usually on Tuesdays, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. It continues in January.
“We give out soup, bread, donations and clothing to anyone who needs it,” she says. “We would like members of the community to know that they can come to the church for help.”
Volunteers Andrea, William and church secretary Marlena Muller, were filling containers with steaming soup for a steady stream of residents, both men and women of all ages.
Many of those seeking soup are on a first-name basis with the servers and there is a friendly exchange of banter and belly laughs that fills the air.
THE CHURCH SOUP volunteers will be outside around lunchtime during the month of January 2022 to serve those in need.
Muller says residents are encouraged to take a new winter jacket from a rack that hangs next to a food pantry in which items can be obtained or left for those in need.
‘”Sometimes we are the only ones that these people may know or can talk to,” she explains. “Many of the clients are alone and have no one at home so they come here.”
Earlier there was a 90-year-old regular who stopped by to chat.
The volunteers say the senior is estranged from his family and attends the Bowls and Blessings program whose members are his adopted family.
The spirit of giving is also not far away from stylist Romanie Persaud, owner of Rendezvous Hair Salon, at 3693 B Lake Shore Blvd. W., near Thirty Seventh Street, in Long Branch.
Persaud organized a successful food drive at her salon and encouraged her many loyal customers to bring a non perishable food item.
With the help of friends, she carted in about 20 plastic bags of much-needed food items that will help fill the pantry and feed those at risk at St. Margarets New Toronto Anglican Church, on Sixth Street, in New Toronto.
“This is something that I always wanted to do,” she says. “There are a lot of people in need in the community and we hope to help some of them.”
Church official Julie McMillan said the items will help those in need in the community.
“We are very grateful,” McMillan says. “Many people will benefit from this food.”