CHICOPEE – Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen at 170 Pendexter Ave. is currently looking for volunteers ahead of the fall season.

The kitchen has operated for 30 years in the fight against local food insecurity. Staff members and volunteers work together to serve clients dinner from their soup kitchen. The kitchen also provides perishable items from a continually stocked pantry for clients to take on the go. In their official mission statement, the kitchen commits to being “a resource of food security to the Greater Chicopee community by providing access with respect and dignity.”

Lorraine’s search is an open invitation for all to participate. “We’re looking for volunteers at any age who can commit at least a day of their time,” said Lorraine’s Executive Director Ruben Reyes. Volunteers are not required to have any prior culinary experience, with Lorraine’s staff guiding volunteers along until they get up to speed. The only current requirement is for volunteers to wear a mask while they are working. All staff members working with the volunteers are vaccinated.

Volunteers can choose between a variety of tasks when participating in the kitchen. “We’re looking for people to help organize food, cook the meals, keep upkeep around the kitchen and prepare pre-made bags for patrons to take with them,” said Reyes. These roles occur during the kitchen’s prep time, while servers are also enlisted to help during the dinner service. The specific schedule times for each position are available on their website.

Lorraine’s request for additional volunteers comes off the heels of a COVID-19 transitional period. Originally, the kitchen was only open for curbside pick-up at the start of the pandemic “For a long time, we didn’t have dinner inside, so it was just grab and go for clients,” said Reyes. Lorraine’s is now opening their doors to clients for sit-down dinners, but they continue to approach COVID-19 with the utmost caution.

“We want people to feel comfortable enough to come in,” said Reyes. To prevent an overflow of foot traffic, the kitchen is operating with COVID-19 capacity guidelines intact. They will continue to keep rigid capacity restrictions in place even as state-wide mandates continue to change according to Reyes. Currently, the kitchen is serving around 50-60 clients a day.

To learn more about Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen and their volunteer opportunities, you can go to https://lorrainessoupkitchen.com/volunteer/ or reach out via phone at 592-9528.