The Hickory Soup Kitchen reopened its dining room to guests on March 15. Several people took advantage of the ability to once again eat inside on Tuesday.

Timothy Sigmon, 52, was among the Hickory Soup Kitchen patrons who chose to eat in the recently reopened dining room on Tuesday. The dining room is open, but guests are also able to request meals to go.

The Hickory Soup Kitchen has reopened its dining room, two years after it was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soup kitchen Executive Director Austin Pearce said the nonprofit officially reopened on March 15 and is now offering onsite dining on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Guests who want a to-go meal still have that option, as well.

Christopher Bolick, 59, was among the people who chose to eat inside the dining room on Tuesday.

“It feels human to be able to sit down and relax, eat your food, get to know people around you,” Bolick said as he sat down to eat the spaghetti lunch.

Pearce said having the dining room open allows for the type of social interactions that are critical for the soup kitchen to do its work.

“The actual breaking bread with people, the actual development of relationships, knowing people and what their needs truly are is very difficult to do with a soup line outside,” Pearce said. “To have someone sit at a table and have a conversation with them is absolutely the best way to assess someone’s needs.”

While the dining room has been closed, the soup kitchen never halted its efforts to feed the community. Pearce estimates that it served in excess of $1 million worth of food over the last two years.

The soup kitchen’s services were particularly in demand early in the pandemic when mass layoffs sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing. At one time during that period, the soup kitchen was serving more than 600 plates a day, Pearce said.

He added that the soup kitchen has been able to fulfill its mission through the efforts of its board, volunteers and patrons.

“What we know now is what we are capable of,” Pearce said.

Kevin Griffin is the City of Hickory reporter at the Hickory Daily Record.

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The Hickory Soup Kitchen reopened its dining room to guests on March 15. Several people took advantage of the ability to once again eat inside on Tuesday.

Timothy Sigmon, 52, was among the Hickory Soup Kitchen patrons who chose to eat in the recently reopened dining room on Tuesday. The dining room is open, but guests are also able to request meals to go.

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