Making Juice

Today, I was a part of the group of 7 people that volunteered in the Caldwell Temple Soup Kitchen. At 10am, after some heartfelt singing before the service, we got to work helping to prepare for when the kitchen would officially open to anyone looking to “dine with dignity”. When diners from all walks of life come in, they are seated at tables and their food is brought to them by volunteers. This concept gives one the opportunity to feel dignified and respected while they eat, and it is much different than traditional soup kitchens where people stand in line to receive a glop of chicken noodle soup. Preparing the meal requires a lot of work – as I found out, much of the food was prepared by a group of church members the night before. I talked with a woman who volunteers there regularly, and she says they average about 250 people served each time the kitchen is open, but it can vary depending on the weather and time of year.

To meet that demand, food has to be prepared in large quantities, and I worked with Marcella today to concoct an 8-gallon vat of juice. The vat was already partially filled with some dark purple grape juice, and we were instructed to add water and some juice mix to it. Once we had about six gallons, we were then instructed to add juices from nearly every fruit of the rainbow: pineapple, apple, peach, cranberry, and orange. Marcella and I were both pretty unsure as to how this potion would turn out – I mixed it with a gigantic ladle in the cauldron-like vat, muttering “double, double, toil and trouble” which made me feel a little mystic  – but, we followed instructions. I ended up filling dozens of cups of juice with the awkwardly-large ladle, and it turned out that the juice didn’t taste half bad.

As people were walking out, they said thank you multiple times, and everyone seemed grateful for what they were given. I saw some people come back for multiple cups of juice, which meant that it didn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would. That is what I learned today: having trust in following directions, and that it would all work out. The atmosphere at the soup kitchen was lively and it was good to serve people and help to give them a meal – even if it meant just ladling some juice.  

- Peter