Hickory Soup Kitchen

In March of 1983 lay leaders of six "downtown" churches, led by Mrs. Mary Lou Dixon of First Presbyterian, began serving the hungry on a rotating basis. By 1985, the kitchen was serving 25-90 people five days a week and the old Highland Fire Station became its first permanent home. During 1990, the kitchen outgrew its space and needed more space. The City of Hickory offered the old Post Office Annex for a new facility. This is the present location. A building campaign raised $220,000 for renovations, including a walk-in freezer/refrigerator, shower facilities, and a modern kitchen with up-to-date institutional appliances. The Hickory Soup Kitchen operated under the loving guidance of Frankie Mosteller until her retirement in June 2008.The Soup Kitchen Board is very grateful for Frankie and Bob's dedication. Sam Whitener served as kitchen manager until January of 2010, when he took a leave of absence due to personal reasons. Austin Pearce now serves as Executive Director. In 2012, the Hickory Soup Kitchen served 46,336 people 70,818 plates of food. We were open 259 days. The Hickory Soup Kitchen serves well-balanced, nutritional, hot meals from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm on week days. The building is open from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. The dining area can seat 132. An average of over 273 meals is served each day and almost over 70,818 meals are served each year. The soup kitchen follows the closure schedule of the Hickory City Public Schools in inclement weather.