The Immaculate Conception Soup Kitchen is located at 181 Austin Street North in the North Point Douglas neighborhood of Winnipeg. It was initiated by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary over forty years ago and is open every Sunday from September to May.
Twice a year, in October and February, St. Charles Parish supplies the meal. On Sunday, February 2, the parishioners provided chili. Pat Rowan, a St. Charles parishioner, has been assisting at the Soup Kitchen for eleven years. On Sunday morning he picked up and delivered the meal - buns, bananas, milk, and chili. Pat said, “This Sunday we fed 185 people. The number was smaller than usual. There was lots left over so we made 85 small containers which people took home for later. We gave the remaining milk away to families with children.”
Thank you to the parishioners who made and donated the chili, to those who heated and delivered it and those who went to the Soup Kitchen and served it. When Pat Rowan was asked why he has been giving up his Sundays for the last eleven years, his answer was short and simple. He said, “It is our duty to help the less fortunate.”