SEQUIM — Melissa, a member of Sequim’s Friends Together, a group that includes those with disabilities, was dropped off at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church by a caregiver so she could attend “Soup’s On,” a free lunch that takes place every Wednesday and is open to anyone who wants to attend.
With a bit of time left to go before the noon start time, Melissa was alone at her table except for “Bertha” — her walker — but that didn’t last long. An average of 70 people attend the volunteer-run lunches at the church, located at 525 N. Fifth Ave. The church requests anonymity for those who attend, even if their reason for showing up is not because they are homeless or in need of a meal.
“I come for socialization, because I live by myself and I don’t drive any longer; I have caregivers,” Melissa said. “I’m not able to cook anymore.”
A 21-year resident of Sequim, Melissa, who has multiple sclerosis, said she is happy to share her table with anyone, whether it be fellow members of Friends Together or strangers she would be happy to get to know. She loves not only the camaraderie but also the special treatment that guests at “Soup’s On” receive.
“They have real silverware, real plates, real cloth napkins,” she said.
There are also fresh flowers on the tables and live musicians.
“For a free lunch, it’s classy,” Melissa said.
The menu on Jan. 22 was two versions of minestrone soup — one vegetarian and the other with chicken — biscuits, Italian salad and chocolate chip butterscotch bars made by “Soup’s On” coordinator Jill Hay.
For every lunch, Sheila Jaqubino personally provides the bread item. She makes homemade yeast rolls, biscuits or corn muffins.
The makeshift restaurant is a multi-person operation that expands beyond St. Luke’s. Volunteers include members of other churches and the community. Franciscan Debbie Golwas, who served as door greeter before switching to server, was among five Franciscans who helped on Jan. 22.
A kitchen crew, which consists of teams, has pots of made-from-scratch soup on the stove and plates loaded with side items ready to go at the stroke of noon. When the partition at the serving window is opened, fast-moving servers have food delivered to every table within minutes.
“Soup’s On” started in 2016 after a woman who had started a similar project in Port Angeles helped St. Luke’s start one in Sequim, said Hay, who was not a member of the church at that time.
“There are people that you can see, financially, it helps them,” she said. “But a lot of people are there for the social interactions. These people have formed friendships, they sit at the same table, they check on each other if they don’t hear from them.”
The lunch service is very inclusive and draws “all different kinds of people,” particularly the retirement population, she said.
One group of friends of retirement age are regular attendees and like to sit together at the same spot, Hay said. The round tables have six chairs, and the group, jokingly referred to as the troublemakers, usually cram more chairs around the circle.
The church views “Soup’s On” as a ministry, just as it views its basement warming center, run by Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP), as a ministry, Hay said.
“It’s a lot of working parts that come together to do this,” said Hay, a Texas native who has lived in Sequim for 24 years.
Everyone has their part to play, she said. There is a dish-washing team, a salad-making team, soup makers and servers who ask guests which of the two soup offerings they prefer — one with meat or one without — and then bring the food to them.
Hay’s son, Spencer, a member of Friends Together, helps by bringing guests glasses of water.
Hay is proud that the volunteers come “from everywhere.”
“Other churches, it doesn’t matter,” she said. “We’re all there to do this mission. We welcome everybody.”
The number of people served each week varies, but, overall, the numbers are growing, Hay said. On average, 70 plates and 90 bowls are used.
“People come back and get seconds of the soup,” she said. “All our cooks are really good.”
Hay writes a weekly newsletter called “Soup’s On Scoop” in which she updates volunteers on such things as who is sick and whether more servers are needed for that week. People always step in to fill the gaps, but with numbers of attendees growing, more help would be welcome.
“We need more teams to make soup,” Hay said. “Money’s not a factor. People love this ministry, and they give to it, but the labor, that would really help us.”
Bakers also are needed.
“Right now, I’m baking all the desserts that come in there,” Hay said.
Anyone who contributes food that they prepare at home can submit their receipts and be reimbursed, but shoppers shop for food for “Soup’s On” every week. Until recently, the shopper was Sherry Nierman, but she has stepped down from the volunteer position she held since 2016 due to caregiving responsibilities.
Nierman was recognized for her service at the Jan. 22 lunch when Hay gathered the volunteers in the kitchen for a prayer before serving. She told Nierman she would be given a card and cash from the “Soup’s On” group so that “you can shop for yourself for a change.”
Going forward, Ron Long and the husband-and-wife team of John and Ann Evanow will handle shopping tasks, Hay said.
There also are volunteers who do the ministry’s laundry. They wash all 10 tablecloths, all of the cloth napkins and the dish towels used in the kitchen.
No matter what those who show up at “Soup’s On” may be dealing with, for an hour or so, they can find respite along with friendship and delicious food.
“Our servers go above and beyond to be kind,” Hay said. “There are people I might look at and go, that person might be homeless. They come, they get fed, they have a good time, and they leave.”
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Kathy Cruz is the editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also is composed of other Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. She can be reached by email at kathy.cruz@sequimgazette.com.
