Soup Kitchen Docs Hope to Thwart 'Silent Killers'

Dr. Mark Warfel (left) and Nancy Robert (right).

People who don’t access regular healthcare may suddenly find themselves the victims of silent killers like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

That’s why Dr. Mark Warfel was interested in reaching out to the underserved population through Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen (after outreach volunteer Nancy Robert approached him about doing health screenings at the soup kitchen).

A Big Heart and A Little Soul

Many of our volunteers bring a big heart to Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen, caring for guests like they were family.

Some bring a bit of soul, breathing music into the air.

During the soup kitchen’s rededication day (Oct. 9), Bernadette VanValkenburg was playing the piano at one end of the dining hall, pouring out the joyful strains of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Destiny.”

 She simply notes: “When they have enough help in the kitchen, I play the piano.”

At the other end of the hall, Bob Schmelcher was playing “How Great Thou Art” on a curious instrument called an “echo harp.” It holds several harmonicas in a semi-circle cage, providing Bob quick access to a broader range of keys and notes.

Bike Racks for Guests, Volunteers

It rained a little that recent Tuesday morning, but then the sun peered from behind the clouds, bathing the entrance to Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen with bright, warm rays. Sunlight also glistened off four black bicycle racks.

Matt VanSlyke of Utica Bike Rescue squatted close to the sidewalk as he bolted a rack to the concrete.

The four new racks, capable of accommodating eight bikes, were being installed as a community service.

Now patrons and volunteers who ride bikes to the soup kitchen have a place “to secure them safely,” noted West Side Boutique Coordinator Nancy Robert. She brought up the idea of the racks, after a couple of bike thefts, when she went to Utica Bike Rescue to see about getting a couple of bicycles for children who come to the soup kitchen.

Matt, by the way, is executive director of Utica Bike Rescue and not unsurprisingly, an avid bicyclist. Their mission is to promote bicycling as a healthy lifestyle while refurbishing bikes, promoting bike safety and providing bikes to “children, students, refugees and lower-income households.”

‘A Gem in the Heart of Utica’

We work to feed the hungry in our community without regard to getting recognition. Our volunteers are motivated by something else. Some may refer to the golden rule of treating others as they would like to be treated. Others may quote the New Testament passage, Matthew 25:35, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome.”

So, it does come as a bit of a surprise when donors track us down and even ask God to bless us. Soup kitchen director Ed Morgan says he is continually amazed.

Shannon Crocker
assistant professor / MVCC

One such donor Ed got to meet at Mohawk Valley Community College. Her students volunteered in the food recovery program, which resulted in tons of food that would otherwise have been discarded being donated to soup kitchens run by organizations like the Salvation Army and West Side Kitchen. Ed got to interact with them on a number of occasions.

This year their professor, Shannon Crocker, won the Aeries Award from MVCC Auxiliary Services for her volunteer and humanitarian efforts. The award came with the opportunity to donate $1,000 to the charity of her choice. She chose Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen.

We asked her why.

“I selected Mother Marianne's West Side Kitchen because it is a gem in the heart of Utica. Every semester when Ed comes to talk with my students, I am blown away by his compassion, caring, and respect for Mother Marianne's patrons. Every semester my students tell me how going to Mother Marianne's is like going to their grandmother's kitchen. It set a wonderful example of community for my students and I am very thankful our city has such an amazing place.”

Volunteering Part of Homeschooling

Six-year-old Dash Wilson was cleaning the table with determination. His 8-year-old brother, Syke, was wielding a broom, with dad Eleyah offering a tip on how to sweep more efficiently. Meanwhile, 19-month-old Kaleah was shadowing her brothers, offering advice in screams and shouts.

It was just another day of community service for the homeschooled Wilson family — except that the location was Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen.

Honored for What He Loves to Do

It’s “humbling,” Ed Morgan told the crowd, “to be recognized for just doing something that I love to do.”

Those were Ed’s simple, yet telling words as he received the Saint Mother Marianne Cope Award on Aug. 18 during the 160th Anniversary Celebration of the Secular Franciscan Order’s St. Joseph Fraternity.

I had the privilege of making the presentation before 100 people during a luncheon banquet at the newly opened Irish Cultural Center.

The plaque read: “In recognition of coordinating the soup kitchen operation and leading/inspiring the volunteer force, resulting in serving nutritious lunchtime meals to the … working poor, jobless and homeless; treating hungry children and adults as blessings; serving over 53,000 meals a year.”

Zoo Comes to the Children

Checking out the hognose snake

There were giggles, murmurs of awe, even strange quacking on the lawn outside Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen.

The occasion was an appearance by the Utica Zoomobile on a sunny Friday in August.
West Side Boutique’s Nancy Robert coordinated the visit for neighborhood children, many of whom have been eating at the soup kitchen during summer vacation.