Waterville Area Soup Kitchen
PO Box 1494
Waterville, ME 04903
207-409-0791
email: info@watervilleareasoupkitchen.com
In 2020, the Waterville area lost a vital resource when the Sacred Heart Soup Kitchen closed its doors. After forty years of providing meals and hospitality to the public six days a week, pandemic restrictions forced the Kitchen to cease operations. A few months later, the Sacred Heart Church building was permanently closed by the Diocese of Portland. The Soup Kitchen was homeless.
A group of veteran volunteers of the Sacred Heart Soup Kitchen refused to let this community resource die. Along with several other concerned citizens, they formed a new organization: the Waterville Area Soup Kitchen (WASK). Its Board has spent the past several months establishing itself as a non-profit and finding the financial and community support to launch a renewed operation.
For members of WASK, the top priority is to address one of this community's and state’s most significant needs: hunger. Food insecurity affects 13.6% of Maine households, and we rank 12th in the Nation on this same measure. These statistics have only grown as a result of the pandemic. In response, WASK began distributing free, hot meals, sandwiches, snacks, and beverages at four locations in the Waterville area twice a week since December, 2020. Thanks to a partnership with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, they have access to a kitchen. Thanks to an intrepid group of volunteers, friendly faces hand out warm meals to those in need every Monday and Wednesday.
The Waterville Area Soup Kitchen’s Board of Directors is working tirelessly to return this community service to the reliable, six-day-a-week resource it was just one year ago.
Recently certified as a 501(c)(3), WASK is working hard to acquire a building to call home. A place where – pandemic restrictions allowing – residents of the Waterville area experiencing food insecurity can come together in a welcoming atmosphere to enjoy a hot, nutritious meal six days of the week.
Visit WASK on Facebook: Waterville Area Soup Kitchen
and on the web: www.WatervilleAreaSoupKitchen.com
Starting May 2, 2022, WASK will be operating out of The Lighthouse and offering free, hot, sit-down meals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Click for more info on The Lighthouse