Coronavirus threat closes storied Rock Hill soup kitchen. Where can the hungry go?
Volunteers at the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen in Rock Hill have served a hot lunch each day to the hungry for 34 years.
And many days, given food to carry home to those who had nothing else. Even if home was a tent or woods.
Aside from one day where a storm blocked the roads and another where power was out because of severe weather, nothing could stop the Crawford Road kitchen from serving the homeless and poor.
That changed Thursday.
Coronavirus is the culprit. A germ forced them to the doors.
Safety concerns over the spread of coronavirus pushed the kitchen’s volunteer board of directors to shutter the soup kitchen until the threat of the disease has passed.
The kitchen closed around noon after handing out more than 100 meals. The board decided Wednesday night to close.
“I am broken-hearted that we have to close temporarily, but this is best for our guests and our volunteers,” said Tim Helline, president of the board of directors. “I feel horrible. These people we serve... they need others. They need us.”
The decision to close came after South Carolina and federal officials repeatedly warned that social distancing, hygiene and staying at home for most people is the best way to stop the spread of the Covid-19 disease.
In the past three weeks meals were prepared indoors and served outdoors when weather permitted. Other non-perishable food was packaged for people to take with them. But there was still too much interaction between volunteers and guests, and guests and other guests, Helline said.
“We just can’t safely control social distancing right now here,” Helline said. “This decision is to make sure no one gets sick.”
Many of the dozens of volunteers who staff the kitchen are elderly and at-risk by age for contracting the coronavirus, Helline said. Many guests who eat at the kitchen are older or in other high risk groups, Helline said.
It remains unclear where those who eat at the kitchen will find a hot meal.
“We just don’t know that answer right now,” Helline said.
Soup kitchen stretched by coronavirus
Although the average meal service is around 90 per day, the kitchen has seen a few spikes in recent weeks where more than 150 meals were served.
“We serve anyone who comes here,” said Jan Stephenson, the soup kitchen’s operations director. “But it right now is just too difficult to ensure social distancing and other safety and health methods by having people come here to eat.”
Stephenson, who has volunteered for 15 years, said she knows many of the regulars. She and other volunteers are considering some food delivery in the short-term for those known persons.
“We are so heavy-hearted about having to do this and close right now,” Stephenson said.
The soup kitchen will open again when it’s safe for people to gather, said Helline and Stephenson.
“This is a short-term action we are taking because of coronavirus only,” Helline said. “This place always has survived and it will be here after the coronavirus.”
The soup kitchen opened 34 years ago on April 6, 1986, said Beverly Carroll, one of the founders and longtime director until her recent retirement. Carroll and the late Brother David Boone, from St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and others organized the kitchen with volunteer support to feed Rock Hill’s homeless and poor population.
The soup kitchen has been open six days a week ever since. The kitchen surpassed a million meals served in 2016.
Meals are prepared and served by groups of volunteers who man the kitchen one to four days per month. Several charitable organizations and church groups have been involved for three decades, Carroll said.
“Our concern always has been trying to help people who truly need meals, and food, to survive.” Carroll said.
Agencies adjust to closure
Officials who operate other assistance centers for the homeless and poor voiced concerns about how to feed the needy in coming days and weeks.
Pathways Community Center in Rock Hill is a single point that connects people in crisis with proper community service agencies. A lot of the people who use Pathways also go to the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen, Pathways executive director Grace Lewis said Thursday.
Lewis told The Herald she and the rest of her team are “making a plan” to account for the soup kitchen’s temporary closure.
The Pilgrims’ Inn — which operated throughout most of March with its food pantry open, and with limited volunteers — announced on Facebook early Tuesday that it is closed until further notice. The organization assists people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Pilgrims’ Inn will open the food pantry from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday, said Diane Tennyson, spokesperson for the organization. Community members can bring donations for the pantry during those hours.
“Food is still flowing at Pilgrims’ Inn,” she said.
Tennyson said she is unsure of future dates the pantry will open.
“We’re going to keep the pantry door open as long as we can,” she said.
Residents can find resources through United Way’s 2-1-1 program. The online database lists coronavirus information, health resources, services for families and financial help. People who have been impacted by COVID-19 should complete an online survey for specific assistance. Residents also can call 866-892-9211 for help.
United Way of York County has started an online list of resources for meals, utilities, health services and shelters.
Want to help?
The soup kitchen is a nonprofit organization, Helline said.
“Everyone who comes here to help does it because their heart is in it to help their fellow man,” Helline said.
The board of directors and volunteers will continue to plan for when the kitchen might re-open, Helline said.
“This is God’s work we do here, and that will never stop,” Helline said.
Because the kitchen will be closed, no donations of food can be accepted until further notice, kitchen officials annoucned Thursday and on their Web site and Facebook page.
Money donations are still acceptable, Helline said.
“Our guests will be here when coronavirus is past and we will be here to serve them,” Helline said.
Anyone who wants to donate can email Tim Helline at timhelline@gmail.com, or call him at 803-242-8953.
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 3:21 PM.
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