Hillel soup kitchen to feed the hungry

The Hillel Foundation and the University City Hospitality Coalition are opening a soup kitchen in the Hillel dining room beginning February 14. Student volunteers will be responsible for setting up, cooking and cleaning, but will be supervised by the Hillel and UCHC staff, according to Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin. They expect to serve approximately 120 people, said UCHC Executive Director David Lynn, adding that UCHC is funding the project. Response to the project on campus has been positive. About 40 students attended the introductory meeting and many more have expressed interest in volunteering, according to Wharton freshman Malkah Buchweitz. College junior Michael Rosenberg, a UCHC board member who is involved in Hillel, first suggested the idea. The project is being coordinated by Buchweitz and College freshman Alisa Singer because Rosenberg is abroad this semester. Buchweitz said she became involved because "at Penn we tend to overlook the community outside our walls." Singer, who shares an interest in volunteer work with Buchweitz, expressed dissatisfaction with previous volunteering jobs and said she is grateful for the chance to work on the soup kitchen project because she "wanted to start up a program on [her] own." UCHC sponsors soup kitchens at churches in the area Monday through Friday, according to Lynn. The group is currently applying for additional grants from Jewish agencies to further aid the project, Brochin said. The program will continue for three consecutive Sundays, at which time it will be evaluated to determine whether it will be continued, Buchweitz said. UCHC is appreciative of Hillel for "opening up their home . . . and going out on a limb for us," Lynn said.