current director Kim Beckett. “The need was
too great to ignore.” The house where the
Soup Bowl currently operates was purchased
and a board of directors was formed. That
board was, and still is, comprised of local
business and community leaders, along
with local churches and the local temple.
The board serves as the governing body
for the nonprofit and helps make all the
major decisions and generate funding. The
director, Mrs. Beckett, makes sure that the
day to day operations flow without any
problems. “We start serving lunch every
day at 11:30am. We are supposed to stop
serving at 1:00pm, but we try not to turn
anyone away. We have had people come
to the back door looking for food, or even
asking to take a bag of food with them,”
Beckett states.
Funding the Anniston Soup Bowl depends
largely on donations. “SuperValu trucking
helps us out A LOT,” Mrs. Beckett admits.
“They provide roughly $20,000 in food
donations to us every year. We couldn’t
operate without them.” She goes on to tell
me that many local grocery stores, fast food,
and full service restaurants donate to the
Soup Bowl as often as they can. “We receive
fresh produce from Piggly Wiggly grocery
store, along with fresh bread and desserts
from the Publix’s bakery,” she tells me.
“Chick-fila donates chips and sandwiches
to us about once every 6-8 weeks.” The
Soup Bowl has also received some funding
from the Community Development Block
Grant, and has also become a United Way
organization. “We depend largely on the
kindness and generosity of the community.
Local farmers will donate seasonal produce
and we’ve had hunters drop off meat for us
as well,” Beckett explains. Local churches
and other organizations will also host food
drives to help provide the Soup Bowl with
funding and canned goods.
Currently, the Anniston Soup Bowl is in
the process of trying to move to a more
service friendly location. “This house we
are in right now is over 100 years old and
is basically starting to deteriorate,” Beckett
admits. “We also don’t have the capacity to
serve 7 days a week right now although the
need is there.” The current location is also
becoming too small. “We are only able to
seat 29 at a t