At Shepherd’s Table, a 30-day giving goal

In the summer months, it’s easy for Triangle residents to forget about local charities, but our doors still open to meet the needs of the hungry. Because Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen in Raleigh doesn’t receive state or federal dollars, we have to raise our annual budget through the generosity and kindness of corporations, companies and individuals.

Unfortunately, we also are losing one of our largest funding sources.

The line of people on Morgan Street right at McDowell Street is a line of need. The need is a meal, and the Shepherd’s Table fulfills that need daily. The soup kitchen was born out of six caring individuals who knew they could make a difference in people’s lives. They started making soup and sandwiches and brought them from home and served them out of their cars. The first day in August 1980, they served 27 people. Today, the kitchen averages 300 meals per day.

Hunger has many faces, and some may belong to a neighbor, a co-worker, a childhood friend or a person waiting on you at the grocery store or restaurant. Many are seniors on fixed incomes struggling to keep a roof over their heads. For a father or mother, sending their children to school in shoes and a jacket can mean having to find alternative ways to make ends meet, and our kitchen does that for many.

Recently, we had a gentleman come in with a $100 donation. He said he has been blessed to have food every day, to dine out, to have a car and a home. He wondered how he could not help someone else then. If people gave up one meal a week out of grace and gave the money to our kitchen, we could meet our budget and goals.

This month, we are trying to raise $100,000 for 100,000 sandwiches in 30 days. Every gift is important to us and to those who are hungry and in need right in our own community.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "At Shepherd’s Table, a 30-day giving goal."