One Person Truly Can Make a Difference

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with a crazy idea? And then by morning, you think you can actually do it?

Well that's what happened to me in June, 2018. At the time I had a successful cooking blog, MommaChef.com, with more than 80,000 followers. It features recipes using six ingredients or less and prepared in six minutes or less. I also was busy writing articles for dozens of magazines and working with various companies to develop recipes using their products.

All of this would have been a dream-come-true for most food bloggers, but I didn't feel complete. Something was missing. It was that "ah-ha" moment at 3 a.m. when I realized I wanted to focus more time and energy into helping others. And what could be more perfect than opening a soup kitchen to feed the needy?

Once the idea came to me, I was determined to make it happen. Over the next few months, I researched what was needed to help the under-resourced people in the Chicago area. I quickly found a facility that was willing to donate its space to house the soup kitchen. I created a business plan, held fundraisers to offset the costs, and designed menus to feed more than 100 people. I was fortunate to find an amazing volunteer coordinator who helps organize our over 600 yearly volunteers. And, within four months -- in October, 2018 -- Momma Chef's Soup Kitchen opened its doors at Congregation KINS in the north suburban Chicago.

Each Tuesday evening, Momma Chef’s Soup Kitchen provides a seven-course homemade hot dinner, as well as bagged lunches to-go. That middle of the night idea, now provides more than 7,000 meals yearly to elderly, unemployed, underemployed, poor or homeless men, women and children. What makes this soup kitchen unique is that I was determined to run it with no overhead other than the cost of food and security. Every person involved, donates his/her time. The soup kitchen needs more than 600 volunteers/year to prepare and serve the meals.

I want to encourage readers that if there is something you believe in -- a cause that taps your shoulder or keeps you awake at night -- believe in yourself! One person truly can make a difference. Eighteen months ago, when I came up with the idea to open a soup kitchen and provide meals to those in need, it sounded impossible. I pulled energy, both physically and mentally, from within and went for it. Ever since, our Soup Kitchen has been making a difference in the lives of people- one meal at time.

I am is still busy with my blog and plan to publish a cookbook in 2021 with delicious “6 under 6” recipes. To find out more information on how you can help the Soup Kitchen or volunteer click here: www.mommachef.com/soup-kitchen