Volunteering At The Assumption Soup Kitchen

The Assumption Soup Kitchen is being run by some kind, good-hearted Samaritans and also church members who prepare, cook and send out food for the underprivileged in the nearby areas.  Every Monday and Wednesday from as early as 6am until 1pm, these volunteers would cook for 500 people.

Hubs has been volunteering at the Assumption House every Monday and Wednesday morning. Most of the volunteers are ladies in their 50’s or 60’s, and there are only 5 men (including hubs).   The 2 younger men will be doing the cooking and carrying heavy stuff.

Hubs cooking the dhal under the supervision of the Head Chef for that day.

As Wednesday was a public holiday, we decided to join him at the soup kitchen.  Hubs’ cousin and his family also came along to lend a hand.  I am very impressed to see how well-organized this place is.  Everyone has a role to do in the kitchen and the hall.   The food that is being distributed consists of a packet of rice with dhal, a vegetable dish and meat if there are enough funds for meat that day.

Firstly, everyone will start preparing vegetables like washing and cutting to be cooked.  The cooking begins at around 9am.  Once cooking is done, it’s time to start packing.  The packing process runs like a conveyor belt system.  One person will scoop out the rice on to the food wrap, another one will scoop the vegetable onto the rice and the next person will move the rice packet to the next person for tying.  Then it will be moved to another person to add a packet of dhal and wrap them up.  The last step is securing the rice packets with rubber bands and putting them into respective boxes.

Missy and her cousin helping to cut the long beans.

Next, the girls helped to set up the tables and chairs for the walk-in.  The soup kitchen caters to about 50 people who would drop by for lunch.  Here’s what I read about the Assumption Soup Kitchen – The operators of the Assumption Soup Kitchen work and abide by three important rules that are imperative when it comes to serving guests. They are Dignity, Cleanliness, and Good manners.   The Dignity of every guest is important because every each and every person that comes to the soup kitchen is of a human being and even with their own shortcomings, they still ought to be treated with respect, this is why they emphasize on serving them with proper tables, tablecloths, and a nice ambiance.

So you can see that every table has been laid with a tablecloth in the hall where the lunch will be provided.  The hall is very airy and comfortable for people to sit in and have their meal.

While hubs was cooking, we were busy preparing the vegetables and washing the utensils.  Once all the food is packed, the volunteers would wash whatever that needs to be washed and clean up the kitchen.

That’s moi and hubs.  You can see the huge cooking pot where the dhal is cooked.

The soup kitchen welcomes more people to help with the cooking as well as food preparation and etc.   We had an amazing time that day.  Missy said she wants to continue going to the soup kitchen to help out whenever time permits.  I think she can do that during the school holidays.  It was such a humbling and enriching experience for me.  Kudos to the passionate volunteers for coming together and offer a warm meal to those who need it most.

If you are interested to lend a hand, here is the address :-

The Assumption Soup Kitchen (Behind The Assumption Church)
No. 70, Jalan Templer, 46050 PJ
Contact: Alice Massang, +6012 212 2397