On Tuesday, Samaritan Ministries in Winston-Salem served its 5 millionth meal. At a small ceremony, Mayor Allen Joines, Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough, and Fire Chief William “Trey” Mayo were among the community leaders in attendance to celebrate the Samaritan's track record and the impact the volunteer-based, nonprofit Christian ministry has had on the city.
Since its founding in 1981, Samaritan, with the help of tens of thousands of volunteers, has served lunch to people in need every day of the year.
Executive Director Jan Kelly says they’ve done so through natural disasters, global pandemics, and most recently, extreme temperatures.
"Dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, all those things are just risks that people who are living unhoused take — people who are living on the edge," she says. "They may have a box fan in their apartment instead of central air. And when they come to the soup kitchen they get a meal, but they also get a rest period. They can sit down and relax, cool off a little bit."
Kelly says since her arrival in 2011, Samaritan has connected its guests to community resources to help them with issues ranging from drug addiction to housing. A key part of the nonprofit’s mission, she adds, is providing hope when it’s needed most.
"That can just mean having a conversation with someone," says Kelly. "You know, welcoming them inside to the soup kitchen, offering them a glass of water — ‘Hey, how’re you doing today?’ All of those things that we all sort of take for granted, that gives people hope to keep going through a very challenging time in their lives where they’re having to rely on emergency assistance for food and shelter."
Kelly says post pandemic — as the flood of agencies who stepped up to fill the void left by Covid-19 has receded — there’s been a steady uptick in the volume of services Samaritan is being called on to provide, and the need for volunteers has never been greater.