Thanks to the generosity – and hard work – of Michigan Area members, Detroit-area needy enjoyed a feast fit for St. Wenceslaus’ table at St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen.
Michigan Area Chair Andy Smith, KM, with son Henry and St. Leo board member Steve Gadzinski
The December 22 banquet featured beef brisket, sauteed shrimp, baked potato, candied carrots, cole slaw, rolls, and Christmas cake. Each guest also received a bagged lunch to go and a gift bag with food and clothing.
Michigan Area members, organized by Michigan Area Hospitaller Kathleen Mastrangelo, DM, staff the soup kitchen twice a month on Fridays. Working under the direction of master chef Burt Dearing, the volunteers slice, dice, season, and saute to provide about 150 hot, delicious meals to guests per day. In 2023, Michigan Area members, friends, and family prepared and served about 4,000 meals to guests in the neighborhood.
In addition to providing tasty, nourishing food, Michigan Area members also offer a listening ear, spending time with their guests over lunch. Many of these guests lack access to health care and health insurance, so the lunches are a good opportunity to educate guests about the Michigan Area’s Malta Dental and Medical Clinic. Both the soup kitchen and the clinic are housed in the Center for the Works of Mercy, located in the heart of Detroit’s North End neighborhood.
Andrea McKenna; Rev. Mr. Dom Pastore, KM; and Lance Oberg package slices of Christmas cake for guests’ gift bags.
The Malta Dental and Medical Clinic and soup kitchen have a shared history: Both started at St. Leo Catholic Church in Detroit in the church’s basement. The soup kitchen’s roots go back to the early 1900s; the Malta Clinic was founded in 2004 by Lou Mahoney, KM, to serve guests of the soup kitchen.
St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen was forced to close in June 2021 when summer floods damaged the kitchen, dining area, and other rooms. With support from Michigan Area members, St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen reopened in the Center for the Works of Mercy in January 2023, joining the Malta Clinic, which relocated to the Center in 2021.
St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen provides lunch every Tuesday through Friday, primarily to low-income residents of Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck. Overall, the soup kitchen provides about 30,000 meals each year.
In 2024, the Michigan Area will continue to provide meals and hospitality to our lords, the poor and sick, at St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen. Special thanks to St. Leo’s, including board president Matt Durak, board member Steve Gadzinski, and volunteer director Theresa Hinge, for allowing the Michigan Area to participate in this ministry. Very special thanks to Chef Burt Dearing for his endless patience, organizational skills, and unfailing good humor in the kitchen.
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