The Soup Kitchen’s History
In 1989, a young mother, with three children in tow, came to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in McMinnville, Oregon on a Sunday morning and asked to use the restroom.
She was living in her car and her family had not eaten for several days, she said.
A handful of parishioners, touched by her plight, drove to the grocery store to buy food and then prepared a meal in the church’s kitchen for the small family.
The family was one of many who found their way to the church’s door step. And as this story, and others like it, began to circulate throughout the parish, church members began to talk about what they could do in response to the need.
And thus, the seed for a feeding ministry at
St. Barnabas was planted and began to grow.
The Soup Kitchen at St. Barnabas opened in 1989 and welcomed, without conditions, those whom Jesus called us to serve in Matthew 25, “I was hungry and you fed me.”
Since opening more than 30 years ago, with the support of St. Barnabas, as well as businesses and individuals throughout the community, we have served families, individuals, including teens, and the elderly struggling to stretch a limited income.
With God’s help, we will feed the hungry of Yamhill County, treat our guests with the dignity and love that we would a guest in our own home, and provide others the opportunity to serve.
Even throughout COVID, with the help of faithful volunteers, our kitchen remained open for guests to pick up “to-go” meals just outside the doors of the parish hall.
With great rejoicing we re-opened our doors for in-house dining in October 2022. And today, with help from the Yamhill County community, we continue on, remaining faithful to our mission. “With God’s help, we will feed the hungry of Yamhill County, treat our guests with the dignity and love that we would a guest in our own home, and provide others the opportunity to serve.