in 1981, the Samaritan Soup Kitchen opened as an interdenominational, volunteer based ministry dedicated to ending hunger. Over the past 30 years, the demand has increased from serving 26 meals on opening day to our current weekday lunch average of 384 meals. Our volunteers and staff have served more than 3 million meals to hungry and homeless people in our community.
The Samaritan Soup Kitchen operates as Winston-Salem’s only soup kitchen
Men, women and children are served a warm meal, 365 days a year with no questions asked
In a dining area with 6 tables and 47 chairs, over 163,859 meals were served in 2012
Actual food and preparation costs are $2.08 per meal
The Samaritan Soup Kitchen also provides dinner and breakfast to our nightly shelter guests
Teams of 15 Soup Kitchen volunteers are needed daily to prepare and serve lunch
Soup Kitchen Volunteer Profile
24 years ago, Betty Russell joined the 1st and 3rd Thursday Soup Kitchen Team and before long added the 2nd and 4th Thursday too. It didn’t take long for Betty to become the “cook” of the Thursday teams and eventually the team leader. Betty and her teams see to it that lunch is served to every guest that walks through the soup kitchen door, sometimes over 400 and always with a smile. Along with her soup kitchen family, Betty is married with 2 children and works as a part-time guide at historic Bethabara Park. We are grateful to Betty and all of our volunteers who have allowed Samaritan Ministries to become part of their families.
