The Soup Haven has been honoured by the City of Yorkton for its first ever group Civic Recognition Award.
“We were shocked,” said Marilyn Dyck, Executive Director for the Soup Haven.
“We’re just so grateful to the community and to be recognized,” said Dyck.
“We’ve been here 21 years now, and unfortunately there’s a lot of kids that are hungry. I don’t see that need changing in the forseeable future. We’re here to help, and we’re just so happy we keep getting grants.”
Late last year, the Soup Haven received a large grant from the Kinsmen. At the time, Dyck explained the logistical challenges of making sure kids are fed.
“We do provide lunches for students daily. We feed about 300 kids a day in the City of Yorkton, but we also provide milk. Milk is very expensive. We can do two milk a week, at 60 cents each, and we also do bulk milk which we send to schools and it costs us $77.35. Now, that doesn’t sound like much, but that’s every week what we do for our bulk, and then we do $139.20 for our little milk that comes.
“It costs us about $216 a week. For some students, that’s the only milk they get. They are not fortunate enough to open their fridge door and grab some milk, or to grab some food. So, that’s what we’re doing and we’re providing at the Soup Haven, and we appreciate all that you do with the Kinsmen.”
There were five submissions in the adult category, two in the youth, and three for the group categories. Of those, they were narrowed down.
To get in touch with the Soup Kitchen, you can donate online from the comfort of your living room by going to http://www.thesouphaven.ca/donations.html.
A receipt will be provided for all donations over $20.
You can also call them at (306) 782-5666.
See related stories on all Civic Recognition Awards, Connor Watrych, and Mark Schendel.
