The St Vincent de Paul Society (hereafter referred to as The Society) is a Catholic

organization whose members are men and women who strive to grow spiritually by offering
person-to-person service to individuals in need. It is named after a priest of the Catholic
Church who dedicated himself to serving the poor. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic
Church and the Anglican Communion. He was canonized in 1737. De Paul was renowned for
his compassion, humility, and generosity and is known as the "Great Apostle of Charity".
Therefore, St. Vincent de Paul is the patron of all works of charity. The Society of Saint Vincent
de Paul, a charitable organization dedicated to the service of the poor, was established by French
university students in 1833. Today, the Society is present in 132 countries.
When I decided to work at a soup kitchen for my final semester service project, I typed soup
kitchens near Wilkes-Barre, PA into Google and was surprised to find 35 listings. I knew there
was a huge need in this area, but I was still surprised at the magnitude. I chose The Society
because I am Catholic and am familiar with their work. They not only feed the hungry through
soup kitchens and food pantries , they also have thrift stores, they provide warm clothing,
bedding and blankets in the cold months and so much more. The soup kitchen I worked at
provides 300 hot meals per day, 7 days per week. All the food is donated by local supermarkets
and prepared and served by volunteers.
I showed up before 9 am as requested and my first task was to separate 500 frozen hamburger
patties, place them on baking sheets and season them. Then I chopped vegetables for soup. A
lot of it was organic and was in great shape. We threw away very little only what was
beginning to spoil. I chopped 2 huge bowls of sweet peppers, mushrooms, kale, shard, broccoli,
cauliflower and eggplant. This was all to be used for the next days meal. At 10:30 we prepared
for the 11:00 opening by setting up the tables and getting out the food for todays meal, which
was cooking while we were preparing tomorrows meal.
My job was to serve water, tea and coffee to our guests. They lined up outside (there were
already people in line when I showed up at 8:45) and came in promptly at 11:00. They removed
their hats and bowed their heads in prayer. All were respectful and most smiled and said thank
you. They ate quietly from 11:00 to 12:30 and cleared the tables after they were through.
There were sandwhiches and bread for them to take with them for a later meal. A
couple even stayed after the meal to help up clean up. After the meal was over, we all pitched in
with dishes, cleaning tables, sweeping floors, putting away leftover food and cleaning the entire
area. It was very well organized and I could tell that the entire operation was a well-oiled
machine.
Two things surprised me during my day. The first was the variety of the volunteers. We had
people as young as high school students and as old as 85 years! There were blacks, whites,
Hispanic and Asian volunteers. Everyone was pleasant and non-judgemental toward the guests.
The guests were the second surprise. I assumed everyone would be the typical homeless
people I had seen in the park old, disheveled and somewhat unstable. There were a few like
that, but most were clean and well-spoken. Like the volunteers, the guests were quite a mix of
ethnicities and ages. Some carried purses and wore dresses and looked like they just came from
church. In other words, most were typical-looking people like myself who did not appear to be
poor. There were a few families, who sat together and talked just like they were in their own
home sharing a meal.
This experience made me very grateful for all that I have my health, my family, a home, and
enough money to buy food and clothes and everything I need. It also made me realize how close
we all are to being on the receiving end of this type of help. There, if not for the grace of God,
go I was the quote that came to my mind. Im sure a lot of these people once had jobs and
were able to take care of themselves and their loved ones. Some may even work now, but are
below the poverty level, unable to take care of their families on what they earn. To learn more
about the St Vincent De Paul Society in general, you can go to https://www.svdpusa.org/. If
youd like to read more about the facility I volunteered at, go to their website at
http://cssdioceseofscranton.org/content/material-assistance/st-vincent-de-paul-soup-kitchen

Please see below for photos from my day.

As mentioned, St Vincent De Paul is a Catholic organization and as such, there are religious
artifacts and bible quotes scattered around the room.

This is a statue of St Vincent De Paul.

This photo of the dining hall was take before the guests came in I did not want to embarrass
anyone. Also, once the guests arrived, I was way too busy to take photos. We filled each seat at
least twice.