Binghamton University offers, at the least, foggy memories of State Street and OCC Transport. At the most, the best four years of our entire lives. And since Binghamton gives us so much, it seems only fitting that we should give back. For those with packed weekdays and busy weeknights, there is a perfect place to help out in the community, and it can be found in a kitchen.
Joy Kasmarick, the fourth Saturday Captain at All Saints Soup and Sandwich Kitchen, dons an apron, a baseball hat and an authoritative, motherly attitude that makes me feel guilty for the brief moments I’m not chopping vegetables or setting a table for the 50-plus expected lunch guests. From 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Joy doesn’t take a break, and neither does her team of dedicated volunteers.
Every Saturday at All Saints Episocal Church in Johnson City, the Soup and Sandwich program provides local people in need with a hearty lunch for the past eight years. Unlike other soup kitchens, All Saints doesn’t just feed the hungry – it provides the lonely with a chance to socialize.
“Some people just want to be with other people,” said Debbie Thorpe, the program’s founder. “Eating alone get old.”
All Saints operates with a restaurant style as opposed to buffet style, where volunteers act as makeshift waiters responsible for taking orders and serving food. Even though this style was originally chosen because a sneeze guard wasn’t in the budget, it’s become a part of the program’s mission. Restaurant-style serving provides a more personal, dignified experience.
Volunteers are assigned to one of four teams, each with its own captain and culture. Teams are given one Saturday of every month, so volunteers really come around only once every four weeks.
The day involves two parts — cooking and serving, but volunteers aren’t required to come for both parts. Cooking begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at noon, when serving begins and goes until 1 p.m. The day ends around 2 p.m., after the kitchen and dining hall have been cleaned.
Binghamton students make up an impressive amount of the total number of volunteers. The CCE has a listing for All Saints on their website, but the cadre of volunteers has grown through word-of-mouth as well.
“Its a very humbling experience. It makes you value the little things: social interaction, warm meals,” said Ishara Quick, a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law who came to All Saints with the Poverty Awareness Coalition, a campus organization that has been providing volunteers for the past three years.
Because All Saints relies heavily on Binghamton University volunteers, Thorpe struggles to run the program during the winter, when most students leave the area.
For most of us, Binghamton is only home for our four years as students. We pass through this city for a brief point in our lives, brief enough so that we don’t consider ourselves part of the larger Binghamton community — a community that provides a lot for us. The least we could do is give back.