I am going to keep it 100 with you, Bex Soup Kitchen started as a one-woman show! I cook all meals and myself and several volunteers deliver all meals! I even have some awesome people that do baked goodies from time to time (as baked desserts, I can admit, are not my strong skill!) And I can't go without saying, my awesome teenager, Sammich, helps me out in the kitchen!

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So here is how it started...I have been feeding people for the better part of a decade! I have volunteered for TN State Veterans,One Generation, as well as making deliveries on the street. I have helped sponsor families all over middle Tennessee going through hardships.  I know what you are thinking...How can you afford to do this? Well, I will be honest there too, I can't afford to do it on a scale I hope to! I have a full-time job and I make myself a budget every year of how much I can put into feeding people. I started with a $200 budget a month and after that the world of groceries skyrocketed and didn't want me to be great, so I worked some more, got a few promotions and was able to put in more a month toward feeding folks. You would be surprised how many people even a few hundred dollars can feed if you work smart! Then I kept increasing my budget without putting myself in the hole and thus I came to a threshold. 

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My incredibly supportive and inspiring friends suggested I start my own non-profit and well...to be honest, I thought it was a crazy idea! Until I realized what I was doing could impact even more folks with the right resources and support! So here we are.

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Why choose to feed people? Well, one, I haven't become independently wealthy yet so I can't give them money and two I have been homeless before and it wasn't fun, go figure! And I wasn't even the homeless on the street type homeless, I was the "thank god I can live in my car" type homeless.

 

Truth is that hard times can happen to ANYONE at ANYTIME. On the other hand, I have also lived the good ole paycheck to paycheck deal where the paycheck left me with $1.97 after paying utilities and rent and...NOTHING else. Saltines and water for dinner it is! I choose to feed people because being hungry not only gives that empty pit in your stomach, but it does something else to you; it breaks down your hope in a way that at times can make you question to press on. The fuel is necessary to keep resilient. I choose to nourish people in that way because having a nice hot meal and conversing has always been a safe space for me, as it tends to be for most.

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I am not a Chef, no professional training, I just have been told I make good food and I happen to agree! I offer words of encouragement with my meals along with a no-judgement zone and a listening ear. Well...not the listening ear part because I am deaf, but I can offer to read lips and can teach you some sign language! 

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Overall I do it because I love it. I love people and I know that one person can make a difference. My goal with Bex Soup Kitchen is to bring back some of that Humanity in the world where people used to take care of one another. It isn't hard, it just takes love.

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