FAQs

The Soup Kitchen is a friendly, community funded, volunteer based social service agency. We offer a delicious, wholesome and well balanced hot meal to anyone who is hungry free of charge every day of the week.

The Soup Kitchen is located in the Old Central Fire Station building. It is at the corner of 17 and Eoff Streets -1610 Eoff Street.

Last year over 175,000 meals were provided free of charge through the Soup Kitchen.

This Soup Kitchen is not government funded, we are 100% community funded. We rely entirely on community members through monetary donations and fundraisers. Response to newsletters is our main source of funding. In order to operate effectively throughout the year, we must raise over $500,000 per year.

Our program, Just for Kidz, is for children of the Soup Kitchen and their families. We provide the children with a healthy home cooked meal every Wednesday night sponsored in part by Wheeling Elks Lodge #28. Those children who attend JFK enjoy a summer picnic, they are given back to school supplies, new clothes and receive holiday gifts. We always need sponsors for our children. We recently opened an examination room, the Drinkard Medical Outreach Clinic, working with Health Right and Project Hope to provide medical attention to those in need. We also have a utility/rental assistance program for clients of the Soup Kitchen in emergency situations.

We always provide our patrons with a choice of a protein (meat), starch, vegetables, fruit, salad, bread and deserts along with juice, milk, coffee or water to drink. When leaving, our patrons are offered food to supplement their evening meals.

We have a very small staff, we rely heavily on volunteers.

Call the Soup Kitchen and schedule yourself to volunteer. Volunteer times are Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 1:30pm, weekends from 9:30am to 1:30pm, and Wednesday’s from 3:30pm to 6:30pm (children’s meal). We take volunteers as young as two (with parental supervision!) but you have to be at least fourteen to work in the kitchen or be without supervision.

Just bring yourself! All that we ask you to do is sign your name in the volunteer sign-in book. Pants/shorts and a t-shirt are recommended and no open toed shoes, tank tops or bare midriff shirts. You are required to wear a hair net (or your own baseball style hat) and gloves that we provide.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to volunteering. You would help with food preparation, serving lunch and cleaning up afterward. There are also more specific things you can help out with such as cleaning, organizing and helping with Just for Kidz. There is always something to do when volunteering at the Soup Kitchen.

We recommend that you get a couple of dates that everyone is able to attend and call to check availability. We are typically booked 2 months out. We will put you on the schedule on the date that is open.

No, the Soup Kitchen is a non-profit 501(c) 3 agency that is independently run by a Board of Directors. However, the Soup Kitchen does work closely with all other social agencies in the Upper Ohio Valley. We have no steady stream of financial support through other agencies.

We accept anything. This includes, but is not limited to, clothing, shoes, food, household items, toiletries, appliances, school supplies, etc. We pass everything on to the patrons and never charge.

We have a Facebook page that is updated regularly - The Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, Inc.

Call us at 304-233-2992 Email us at SoupKitchen@wheelingsoup.org Message us on Facebook