Saroeun Sorm has relied on Loaves and Fishes since he became homeless more than a year and a half ago.
The Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church has hosted the soup kitchen since 2012. Until recently, Sorm had no idea that wouldn't be the case for much longer.
“I'm gonna be hungry, really hungry,” he said. “Because I'm already starving as it is.”
Loaves and Fishes was told by the church that they will have to find a new location following complaints from neighbors about its impact on the community. The church originally told the group to leave by October but has continued to extend its stay because no other organization has offered to host it.
While a few people who rely on Loaves and Fishes seemed to know about the church’s decision to no longer host it, those who did know about the move thought the group had already secured a new location.
“I believe it will be moving to the VFW building with the winter shelter zone,” said James McDonald, who’s been coming to Loaves and Fishes since 2017.
The Room at the Inn shelter began its first year as a year-round shelter at the former VFW building late last month. After Wilkes told Loaves and Fishes that they had to leave, the Columbia City Council discussed letting Loaves serve food out of the VFW building on Ashley Street at an August council meeting.
However, the building is undergoing renovations that won’t be done until at least after winter. Even if the building could accommodate Loaves and Fishes, no deals with the city or Room at the Inn have been finalized.
“We can’t lose this place”
The community aspect of Loaves and Fishes is apparent. Visitors toss around footballs and sing along to music as they wait for the church’s doors to open. Some drive their friends to the church and help push their wheelchairs around the cafeteria. Others embrace as they see each other for what is sometimes the first time in a long time.
Rose has been an on-and-off visitor to the soup kitchen and has been attending consistently for the past six months. When she found out about the church’s decision, she said the loss of the location would be a blow to the community.
“We can’t lose this place, this is the only place we’ve got,” she said. “We all come here to congregate."
Tre is also a constant smiling face at Loaves and Fishes. He says the soup kitchen is the only place he can reliably find a warm meal each night. While leaders at Wilkes and Loaves and Fishes have indicated they don’t intend to let a lapse in service happen, Tre still has concerns even if a new place is found.
“If the location is too far away, then a lot of these people won't be able to make it down there,” he said. “And that's really what I'm concerned about, is it not being too far away so that everybody can have a meal.”
Even though Sorm sticks to himself more than most — he’s earned the nickname Spooky for his “scary” demeanor — he shares Tre’s concern about the food insecurities others might soon face.
“Not just for me, just for everybody else too because sometimes this is the only meal you can get that's hot, you know, instead of getting granola bars or something like that anywhere,” he said. “They depend on this place to feed them.”
Response to neighborhood complaints
Complaints from neighbors, along with an increase in people seeking meals, were the main reasons for the church’s decision.
Residents near the church expressed at a September forum why they felt programs geared toward helping the homeless can have a negative impact on the neighborhood. They say they saw increases in littering, squatting, public disturbances and overall crime.
Sorm said he understands their concerns, but he thinks the homeless community is being unfairly painted with a broad brush, and that Loaves and Fishes is being blamed for a larger problem than the one-hour soup kitchen could cause.
“There are a lot of things that go on here that I'm not aware of, that I really don't give a crap about, all I worry about is me and my next meal,” he said. “For them to do that, you know, it's ridiculous, because Loaves serves from five to six o'clock. So, what's the problem here? You’re worried about a lot of crime going on? Within an hour? Get the hell out of here.”
Another homeless man, Saint Dixon, agrees with Sorm and says moving Loaves and Fishes isn’t the solution to the neighborhood's problems and could exacerbate them.
“Dogs don't poop where they eat,” Dixon said. “I'm just saying if they think there's problems here now, wait until you're hungry. I mean, a starving man is going to do something. So take the food away and it's going to stop? I don't see that logic.”
Sorm pushed for neighbors to have more empathy toward the homeless community and to better embody the ideals of the church.
The church council voted unanimously to extend Loaves and Fishes’ stay till at least the end of November. For months, Loaves and Fishes Coordinator Ruth O'Neill has been asking other churches to host the soup kitchen, even just temporarily.
So far, none has agreed to help.
“I see people driving nice cars that won’t even give you a penny,” Sorm said. “I see people driving dusted cars, probably don't have enough money to pay for their insurance, and they're given out dollars.”
“If Jesus was on earth, he would be standing on the freeway holding a homeless sign, just to see how humanity really is.”
This story is also appears in the Columbia Missourian.
