Due to COVID-19, the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen’s dining room has been closed since March of 2020, going on 19 months and counting. 

The Daily Bread Soup Kitchen is a volunteer-run business located in Champaign that serves meals to those in need. 

According to Lynn Hall, volunteer coordinator of the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, before the pandemic, the dining room used to seat 160-180 people daily to feed them meals. 

However, when COVID-19 hit, the dining room closed, but that didn’t stop Daily Bread from serving meals.

“We decided that we could still hand out a meal and meet all the government regulations,” Hall said. 

Following the slam of the virus, Daily Bread came up with new ways to provide meals to anyone who needed them ­— setting up a six-foot table extending from the front door and sliding out meals. 

Hall explained that Daily Bread provides around 230 pre-made sack meals a day, and it has been especially useful to those struggling due to the financial issues of the pandemic.

“The vast majority of the people who come there are people who probably have part-time jobs or jobs that don’t have very high hourly wages,” Hall said. 

Hall mentioned that Daily Bread hasn’t struggled with attaining volunteers. 

Although COVID-19 has restricted many in-person interactions, Hall emphasized the aid that Daily Bread continues to receive from the Champaign-Urbana community. 

“One of the things that I really like about (the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen) and appreciate, I would say, is the support that the community gives us in many ways that people often don’t know about,” Hall said. 

Daily Bread receives donated food from the Gordon Food Service, Harvest Market, local grocery stores and places at the University, such as the Hendrick House. 

For more information on how you can donate or volunteer, email [email protected] or leave a message at 217-356-7678. 

[email protected]