The Immaculate Conception Soup Kitchen has been serving the needy of Fairbanks for some 30 plus years. We are in the heart of downtown Fairbanks and have become a popular place not only because of our historical Church, but also a gathering space as we are along the Chena River and the Golden Heart Plaza.
In response to the pandemic, we have restructured our ministry and serve six days a week and currently serve anywhere from 550 to 650 meals per week open from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Tuesday – Sunday. This typically consists of anywhere from 300 to 400 hot meals and drinks Tuesday through Friday using food that is generously donated by Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and the Fairbanks Food Bank.
On Saturday and Sunday, in addition to hot meals and drinks, we also provide roughly 250 sack lunch meals since our soup kitchen is the only place serving the people in town on weekends. These sack lunches are composed primarily of food donated by generous donors, from parishioners of our Catholic Churches, to other churches or organizations, and people of good-will from the Golden Heart City of Fairbanks!
A typical sack lunch, which we estimate costs $4.00 each, consists of the following: bottle of water, a sandwich, a granola bar or trail mix type item, a pudding/applesauce/fruit cup, a salty item such as chips or pretzels, a small dessert, and a spoon and napkin. We also serve fresh vegetables, hard- boiled eggs, and string cheese on these days as well. Items we need to make our bag lunches include:
Deli meat
Cheese slices
Mayonnaise
Peanut butter/Jelly
String Cheese
Baby Carrots/Celery
Granola bars/Trail Mix
Chips/Pretzels
Pudding/Fruit Cups
Bottled water
Eggs
Ziploc bags: sandwich/snack size
Brown lunch bags
Disposable spoons
Small napkins
Other items that help our operation: Coffee/Tea, Hot drink packets (cocoa, apple cider), homemade baked goods, hygiene items (soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby wipes, and winter gear is welcome.
Volunteers are the soul of our ministry as they come to serve; and in so doing are served, blessed, by the Lord of Servants, Jesus. If you have a servant’s heart and want to be a minister of mercy, reflect and pray to see if our Heavenly Father is calling you for these corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Your gifts of time, talent, and treasure are greatly appreciated not just by the soup kitchen, but especially by the people we serve. Your donations are making a great difference in their lives! The kitchen can be reached via e-mail at [email protected], by phone at 907-452-3533, ext. 22, or in person at Immaculate Conception Church between the hours of 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
Thank you, and God bless!