Wildwood Soup Kitchen worried about future amid increasing rent

Wildwood Soup Kitchen worried about future

The Wildwood Soup Kitchen in Sumter County serves nearly 5,000 meals a week. It currently rents a commercial kitchen and space from the First Presbyterian Church.

WILDWOOD, Fla. - The Wildwood Soup Kitchen in Sumter County serves nearly 5,000 meals a week. It currently rents a commercial kitchen and space from the First Presbyterian Church.

However, increased rent and reduced availability of the kitchen has the soup kitchen's owners worried about its future.

They're looking to purchase their own building, but the cost is steep – $1.5 million. They're hoping the community and businesses will help support their mission.

"We are probably the only soup kitchen in the area, and the need is so big," said Barbara McManus, president of the Wildwood Soup Kitchen board. 

She said 750 volunteers help serve 4,600 meals a week, either on-site at the church or through deliveries. She said demand has increased, especially amid concerns about November SNAP benefits due to the ongoing government shutdown. 

She said Wildwood is the only soup kitchen in the area.

$1.5M to purchase their own space

To purchase their own building to operate out of in the future will cost an estimated $1.5 million, organizers said.

They're exploring short-term solutions now, including the potential to partner with other churches and the use of a disaster relief trailer.

"We're going to rely on the community, organizations, businesses to help us with that, with a fundraiser," said Gregory Nicoletti.

What you can do:

The soup kitchen is collecting donations for its project through its website.