MPC opened its first soup kitchen in November 1991, at a time when over half of Moscow’s residents lived below the poverty line. Since then, we have served over two million meals to elderly Russian pensioners. Many people have come to the soup kitchen regularly for more than five years, and several have been with us for more than ten years.
In recent years, our community’s needs have shifted. The 120 pensioners we serve still need food assistance, but they say that fellowship is even more important than the food. For this reason, our pensioners’ program now includes:
- A weekly food bag with a variety of grocery staples, including cooking oil, rice, butter, milk, buckwheat, pasta, canned vegetables, canned fish or meat, and seasonal produce from MPC’s new Seeds of Hope Farm
- Tea and cookies at our Parish Center
- An opportunity to chat with other pensioners and our volunteers
The new program format began in September 2014. We operate at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church at Voznesenskiy pereulok 8 (near Pushkinskaya metro station) on Wednesdays from 11:00 to 13:00.
If you are interested in attending or volunteering, please contact MPC’s Food Sharing Director Daniel Ekat at pc@mpcss.org. We are hoping for some Russian-speaking volunteers who can chat with the pensioners, but please don’t worry about your language skills. A warm smile is the only requirement! Volunteers should arrive at 9:45 on Wednesdays before the clients arrive.
If you are interested in sponsoring the program financially or donating food, please contact Development Director Imanni Burg at development@mpcss.org. We have listed some specific needs below, but we welcome any ideas you have.
- Cookies, pastries, or other small treats
- Tea
- Sugar
- Cups
- Small plates
- Napkins
- Nonperishable food