A local Soup Kitchen is hoping to let the community know that they're available for those in need.
The grand opening of the new Portage la Prairie Soup Kitchen is taking place on September 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Highway Pentecostal Church.
Coordinator Shelley Burton says they initially opened the soup kitchen in May of this year but are holding this grand opening to raise awareness of its existence.
"We decided to wait for our grand opening until we were up and running and just seeing what that looked like," explains Burton. "We started with 12 and now we can be up to 52 patrons, so we thought the community needs to know we're here and what we're doing."
She adds that since they're located near the Manitoba housing on 18th Street, some of those residents rely on the soup kitchen to take one thing off of their to-do list. They do welcome everyone, however, regardless of the situation.
"There's a wide variety of reasons," responds Burton. "Some of it is homelessness, some of it is mental health issues, and some of it is that people just want to come and have a safe place to sit and have a hot meal with their friends."
The grand opening will include free hot dogs, chips, cake, and drinks. They also are looking for donations of either cash or non-perishable food items. A tax receipt will be issued for donations over $20.