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Soup for the soul

Erie Kiwanians enjoy offering a warm meal at a soup kitchen and making a difference in the lives of needy and homeless people, including many children.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Erie, Pennsylvania, don’t mind extra helpings. They’ve been dishing out meals to locals for years now, with no end in sight.

Even Dean Lanier, 82, makes sure he is a part of trips to the Emmaus Soup Kitchen, where members assist two days every month.

“It’s a pleasure to see the different people come through the line,” Dean says. “It helps us as individuals because we’re there doing something of value.”

Dean and about seven other club members serve 120 to 200—some of them children—mostly from Erie, Locke reports. They set up, prepare and serve food, and clean up, sharing multiple duties as needed. One serves the entrée, another the vegetable, another the soup and so on. Some foods, such as the salads, coleslaw and fresh fruits, are offerings the guests don’t normally see. Homegrown garden goods and party leftovers are treats businesses and individuals donate. Diners appreciate the full course.

“That’s probably their one good meal a day,” says past club president Valerie Balzer.

The appetite is just as hearty for the Kiwanians. Some work a half day to
get off early to go to the soup kitchen.

“It really humbles you,” member Janice Locke says. “I get a true appreciation
of my own life from it.” —Barbara Klemt Boxleitner