by LAUREL WILSON The Daily News lwilson@bgdailynews.com
When Amie Hurt suggested supporting the Glasgow-Barren County Community Soup Kitchen as a class service project, she was surprised to find many of her classmates at the Glasgow campus of Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College didn’t even know it existed.
“There’s so many people who had no idea,” Hurt said.
She and several classmates will host a chili supper at 6 p.m. Saturday to raise money and awareness for the soup kitchen, located in an old school building at 301 Bunche Ave., Glasgow. The supper will cost $6 per meal or $5 with a canned good donation.
Hurt has volunteered at the soup kitchen for years and recommended supporting the organization when the time came to develop a service learning project for a developmental psychology class she was taking.
“I knew there was a need in town,” she said.
The soup kitchen, run entirely through donations and volunteers, offers meals from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday and Thursday. The organization would like to serve meals every day, but there aren’t enough volunteers.
Chris Abrams was among Hurt’s classmates who wasn’t aware Glasgow had a soup kitchen, but he immediately stepped up to organize the chili supper.
“It’s just a really good thing to have in the community,” Abrams said. “Sometimes it’s a struggle out there, and you can’t make it without a helping hand.”
Hurt said it can be heart-wrenching to see so many people in need at the soup kitchen, which serves 70 to 120 people each day it’s open.
“I’ve gone in and been having a bad day, but there’s no comparison,” she said. “My bad day would probably be their best day.”
In addition to raising money for the soup kitchen, one of the goals of the chili supper is to make more people aware of the organization.
“You don’t have to donate anything, just your time,” Abrams said.
He is co-owner of the Shine Brite Co. in Glasgow and has been using his business connections to get the word out about the chili supper. Already, the response has been “amazing,” Abrams said.
“I’m just really surprised by the level that it’s taken off,” he said.