Seven days a week and twice a day, people from all walks of life drop into the Samaritan Center for free, freshly cooked, hearty meals. Situated in a former Catholic church, the center has been serving its community for 37 years, offering breakfasts, lunches and dinners to anyone who wants one, no questions asked.
The venue of the Samaritan Center, which was once the St. Paul the Evangelist Catholic Church. The original church was bought out by the Vietnamese community to form another church, then due to the inability to sustain, it has been restructured into the soup kitchen since 2015
Food being served during meal time. The kitchen is placed where the altar was, leaving the space bellow for tables and drink stations. 22% of the people who attend the venue have no income at all.
Joseph Reed, 57, one among many visitors of the center. Moved to Syracuse from Rochester, Joseph was a victim of homelessness and umemployment due to his disable status. Now still unemployed and spending his day walking the street, he said that the places like the Samaritan Center gives people like him a place to go to and get taken cared of.
Judy Johnson, 72, volunteer, working on the salad dish. Vegetable is washed before getting chopped and mixed into a salad, ensuring the nutritional values of the meal. The Samaritan Center is ran completely as a volunteer operation.
Tom Wheeler, 73, a volunteer at the center, is wrapping leftover food from a meal service. Leftover food is usually kept in the pantry, or distributed to volunteers
Richard G. Lapradd Jr. , 54, a regular at the Samaritan Center. He enjoys being around the people at the soup kitchen and make them laugh.
Today's menu is sausage with onion, peppers and mixed greens. Not only offering nutritious dine-in meals, the Samaritan Center also have a bagged lunch program for those who wants them.
Edward Owens talks about love, religion, and volunteering while mixing pounds of pasta with other ingredients. Only 12% of the kitchen's guests are employed.
Jim Vannelli, 70, volunteer, boiling pasta. Edward and Jim, along with their wives, has been volunteering at the Samaritan Center for 25 years.
Edward Owens, 70, a volunteer, preparing ground beef for the day's main dish, goulash. Out of the people who visit the center, 51% have experienced homelessness in the last year
