Tough times mean extra work at soup kitchen
John Cdebaca, who's homeless, said he has been eating meals at the kitchen for the past two years. He said he's noticed more people using the service in recent weeks, especially low-income residents who aren't necessarily homeless.
Cdebaca said the service is valuable and he'd manage to cope if it were ever curtailed, though others would suffer more.
"For a lot of people — it's their only prepared meal," he said. "Now that nights are getting colder, if you don't have something in you, you'll freeze."
El Caldito Soup Kitchen was founded under a different name in 1984 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. With the help of the help of the local Catholic and Jewish communities, the operation expanded over the years from just two days a week to six days a week. The kitchen gained a home on the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope campus in 1998. It serves an estimated 70,00 meals each year, according to its Web site.
Anderson said the organization can always use donations, especially of money.
Daniel and Mary Farren, Las Cruces retirees, were among a group of residents that helped found El Caldito and have served until recently as volunteers. The two have plenty of stories about the clients who have enjoyed meals at the kitchen, including one about a man who used to take several bags of food home with him each day. Daniel Farren said another soup kitchen volunteer offered the man a ride to his apartment one day, and in the course of dropping him off, learned that his "to-go" bags were distributed to different neighbors who needed the food.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_11002622
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