CUTLINE: Claire Crone stirs the soup being served that particular day at Sophia’s Kitchen. Patrons receiving food number in the hundreds. The kitchen is located at 103 S. Richard Pryor Place and provides nourishment and encouragement to those in need.
When Claire Crone talks about feeding hundreds of people each Monday through Friday, she explains about preparing “nutritional treats,” and how everyone deserves dignity and respect, and serving people with kindness, and trying to make people’s lives better and easier. She doesn’t dwell on the difficulty of doing all that, although she’s very forthcoming about the struggles and challenges. She and her team of 101 volunteers often see people at their lowest point. “We only know the beginnings of their story,” explains Claire. “We don’t know the ends, but we do know some endings are good. Sometimes the people need more than just food and we try to help with that as well. We work hard not to enable people, but to help them.”
Claire is the Director of Sophia’s Kitchen, located at 103 S. Richard Pryor Place in Peoria, where meals are served Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and which is handicapped accessible. The facility opened in March of 2010. It originated at Sacred Heart Catholic Church years before as a Sandwich Program, but the accommodations there, first built for four priests to have dinner, were no longer efficient or large enough to serve the increasing population. “We’re serving some 500 people each day,” says Claire, “and we’re run by Health Department guidelines. (The kitchen received a 100 on their October 25th Health Department inspection.) Technically we’re a Sandwich Program and what we serve our patrons goes into a brown bag and the bag goes with them. And it doesn’t look any different than someone else carrying food in a brown paper bag.” The non-descript bag allows the patron to take the food to work and not be identified as having gone somewhere for free food.
There are no credentials needed to obtain food. No forms to fill out and no requirements that must be met. “People just need to be hungry and respectful,” says Claire. Youngsters under 16 must be accompanied by a care-providing adult. The outreach food program provides nourishment of varying types. Located next door to St. Joseph Catholic Church, the staff provides hospitality, kindness, respect and encouragement. “Sometimes people ask for prayers, and sometimes they tell us they will pray for us.”
Sophia’s Kitchen is named for a child who died tragically at the age of three. “To help ease their grief, her parents directed their attention towards making sure others have enough to eat by hosting fundraisers and donating generously to this mission.” A painting of Sophia graces the entrance. Her smiling face is a reminder to cherish each moment and find joy in each other.
The food served is provided through the generosity of private donors, churches and organizations, Heart of Illinois Harvest, Midwest Food Bank, subsidies from Sacred Heart Church, bequests, local grocery stores and restaurants, and those folks who bring in canned goods throughout the year. There are also the expenses for “unseen things that support the kitchen and which are expensive,” says Claire knowingly. Some $300 a week is spent on paper products. Requests for funds and information about the program are put in church bulletins, and Claire is often found talking at churches or other gatherings to educate people about the kitchen and encourage donations. “If you send us a donation, that does not put you on a mailing list,” she promises. “We believe that when your heart is ready, you’ll give more.”
Faith, hope and charity are paramount at the kitchen. Faith that God will provide when supplies and funds are low; hope that people’s needs will be served and that those seeking food may someday be able to provide for that basic need, and charity toward those who are served, those who do the serving, and those who provide monetary support and volunteer time.
To be a volunteer, one must “have a joyful heart and be able to listen well.” Most volunteers are seniors, but there are also moms who come when their children are in school, and Methodist Hospital nursing students also help for a semester on Tuesday mornings.
Tasty, nutritious, and varied describes the food served each day. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are staples. Sometimes it’s hot soup in a cup, a welcome treat on a cold day, or it might be ham sandwiches or breakfast casserole, or they may have a choice depending on the daily menu. One morning the kitchen was fragrant with the aroma of hazelnut coffee and maple oatmeal. “We don’t always think about some of the things we enjoy,” explains Claire, “like flavored coffee or cream, but for the folks that come here, that can be a real treat.”
And about some of those stories that Claire and the volunteers know the beginnings of but don’t always know “the rest of the story.” Sometimes they do as patrons return to say “thanks” or to explain their situation has vastly improved. Sometimes a newly-found job pays minimally and the food from Sophia’s Kitchen helps stretch a shoestring budget until a salary increase. People’s lives do turn around, especially when others are willing to help educate, inspire, and foster independence. “We all need at one time or another a hand up,” believes Claire. Sophia’s Kitchen, with its volunteers and many generous benefactors, help make that possible.
If you would like to volunteer, please call (309) 655-1578.