That Wonderful Soup“Do you have any more of that wonderful soup?” is a question Bob McDonald frequently hears, especially from older clients of the Fair Haven Food Pantry.  Mrs. McDonald is the director of the pantry, located at Fair Haven United Methodist Church on Gessner and is, like every other worker at the facility, a volunteer.    

Her seniors are referring to the soup from First Congregational Church, delivered monthly.  “It tastes better than the canned products,” she adds, “and the older people don’t have to dilute it or read instructions before using it.” 

Branded “A Taste from Heaven,” the soup supplements food the pantry purchases from the Houston Food Bank and from retail stores.  Donations from businesses, churches and Memorial Assistance Ministries help as well. (Since their recent move, MAM no longer maintains a food pantry and sends food donations to pantries in the area.)

Fair Haven and other pantries face today’s reality: Less food is available from the food bank (18 cents a pound with fresh produce free); businesses are not as generous as they once were; and prices are higher in retail stores.  And as more people lose jobs, more are asking for help.

Less Food, Greater Need

“We’ve had a significant increase in the number of family units registering with us for the first time,” says McDonald, “a minimum of five each day.”  In addition to tracking “units,” which include individual clients, the pantry counts people.  It served 31,000 adults and children last year.  “We’ll help many more than that this year,” she says.  (Oversight agencies require food pantries to keep careful records.)

The Fair Haven pantry serves eight Zip codes, four south of I-10 and four north of the freeway.  Except for the handicapped and elderly, clients “in area” are allowed to collect food three times, then must wait three months before receiving more food from Fair Haven.  The policy spreads scarce resources further, encourages people to become self-sufficient and discourages dependency on one easy source. (They can also visit other pantries in their area.)

Every so often, what goes around comes around.

One July day, a man entered the pantry with a bag half full of food.  “I’m returning this,” he said.  “I have enough.” In all her 25 years with the pantry, McDonald hadn’t heard that before.

Another time, a woman came for help after an auto accident.  Because she was in a cast, the pantry relaxed the rules and provided food when she needed it.  Some months later, the woman brought in two car loads of food.  She had won her lawsuit!

To the many people who donate time -- at FCC preparing the soup, at Fair Haven, maintaining client records, acquiring and distributing food and managing the effort --  the rewards are intangible but real.

Julie Land, tech writer most of the time and FCC soup prep person once a month, put it this way: “I like giving back,” she says.  “And it’s fun!”  

The hundreds of quarts of frozen soup donated each year to the Fair Haven Food Pantry require lots of prep work, usually on the last Saturday of the month. July’s soup chefs included:  Jan Van Derbur, Linda Noyes, Chris Tuckett, Julia Land, Sara Smith, LaVerne Meline, and Sue Earl.  Other frequent participants are: Bob Wilbur, Paul Titus, Kristen Kaiser, and Gloria McClure   

Naomi Black, who manages the effort for First Congregational, sells some of it at “Coffee, Tea and Conversation” to pay for next month’s ingredients.  Although husband Charles often helps with the delivery, Naomi handled that detail in July.  Fair Haven, which keeps careful records of recipients, displays the soup with bread and food bag for the next client. The soup is especially appreciated by elderly clients.