Last year was especially significant for the Soup Kitchen of Muncie, and not only because we celebrated our 30th anniversary.
What made 2024 so consequential was that we served more meals than ever before at 95,628.
That number represents a 20 percent increase over 2023.
Think about that — with one full-time employee and four part-time employees and with a modest budget, we served nearly 100,000 meals. That averages out to 373 nutritious and hearty meals per day for every day we were open. If you exclude fast food businesses, the Soup Kitchen probably served more meals Monday through Friday than any for-profit restaurant in town.
The true cost of hunger
With each meal we serve, our impact on the community grows.
Many of us who support the Soup Kitchen are fortunate to have never known hunger. Hunger is a relentless form of suffering because it robs a person of the ability to dream beyond the next meal. It forces someone into a state of survival that that overshadows life’s joys and strips you not only of your energy but also of your hope.
To fight hunger is to restore dignity. With our volunteers and donors, we rose to the occasion last year, and it’s something for all of us to be proud of.
Doing more with less
Not only did we serve more people, but we also did it more efficiently, stewarding your dollars as effectively as possible. Even in the face of skyrocketing inflation, the overall cost-per-meal declined from $2.59 in 2023 to $2.48 in 2024. (That cost-per-meal figure includes all of our expenses, from labor to equipment to rent and supplies. If you only include our annual grocery expense, we spend about $1 per meal.)
YOUR donations go a LONG way.
The growing demand for assistance
While last year was a record, the drastic increase in demand for assistance stretches back to around the middle of 2023. We started that year serving about 5,000 to 6,000 meals a month, and by June we were serving almost 8,000.
Our numbers have been consistently high since then, and 8,000 meals a month has become average. It’s no longer a high-water mark — it’s our new baseline.
Hunger is a complex issue and many factors, both locally and nationally, are driving this increase, including the expiration of pandemic-related benefit programs. But it’s safe to say the grocery prices are perhaps the biggest influence right now. People who were vulnerable but surviving without assistance have been plunged into food insecurity.
Let’s hope food prices go down, but let’s not count on it.
You can make a difference
Hunger does not have to be inevitable. Food, while increasingly expensive, is not rare, nor is our compassion to take care of our neighbors in Muncie.
You can be part of this change. The Soup Kitchen of Muncie is on the front lines providing warm meals, hope, and dignity to those in need. Your support—whether through a donation, volunteering, or simply spreading the word—ensures that no one in our community goes to bed hungry.