Last weekend, hundreds of people from the Brown County community packed into the Seasons Lodge Event Center to eat, socialize and bid in a silent auction, all in an effort to support Mother’s Cupboard Community Kitchen.

The well-attended Soup Bowl event took place on March 19, where attendees purchased tickets either at the door or prior to the event.

Once inside, they had the opportunity to peruse a large selection of handcrafted soup bowls made by local potters before heading into the main room, where several vendors from local restaurants offered a variety of signature soups, local musicians performed for entertainment and large tables offered various goods for the auction.

Every one of the dozens of dining tables were full throughout the duration of the event, where family members, friends and neighbors talked and ate.

Long lines weaved around the bidding tables, which were full of items ranging from signed CD’s, to local art and woodworking pieces, to wrapped gift baskets.

More than 200 items were donated to the silent auction portion of the event, all proceeds benefiting Mother’s Cupboard and its local efforts to address food insecurity.

As of March 24, final numbers for ticket sales and final bids were still being calculated.

However, according to a Facebook post following the event by Sandy Richardson, President of the Board for Mother’s Cupboard, it was “without a doubt” the biggest Soup Bowl function ever.

“I think so many people showed up this year because this has always been a well loved event and people missed it,” Richardson said last week.

“So it was good to see everyone there.”

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Richardson has been serving as president for Mother’s Cupboard for six years. She said last week that she originally became aware of the Soup Bowl in 2016, but she believes the event has been going on since 2001.

The event had been a successful, recurring annual community event since it began two decades ago. However, the event had been cancelled by organizers for the past three years due the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last one was held in 2019.

“About the time we would think we were in the clear to plan, (COVID-19) would pop back up,” Richardson said.

According to Richardson, the Soup Bowl organizers set the date for the 2023 event well in advance and remained optimistic that they would be able to pull it off.

“Luckily we still had bowls left over from 2019, along with additional bowls we had started to gather from potters in anticipation of 2020 Soup Bowl,” she said.

“We also had items for silent auction we have had stored since early 2020.”

Over the years since the original cancelation in 2020 and the successful event this month, Richardson described many changes that took place at Mother’s Cupboard.

“During (the pandemic), to keep our clients and volunteers safe, we closed down the lobby and served our meals out the window, with masks and gloves for our volunteers, as well as pantry items,” she said.

“Our numbers did drop during the pandemic, but that was attributed to additional money the government was giving to many people.”

Prior to the pandemic, Richardson said volunteers were serving anywhere from 150 to 200 people a day. During COVID, the numbers were closer 40 to 60 people a day.

Due to a struggle to find volunteers around the same time, Richardson said Mother’s Cupboard also had to close on Sundays. According to her, it was a tough decision to make.

“We lost our assistant cook, Steve Wagner, who had to move closer to Indianapolis, to care for his wife who is ill,” Richardson said.

Last year the nonprofit’s executive director, Chef Sherry Houze, passed away.

Despite the many challenges that threatened the Cupboard during the pandemic, the organization was able to adapt and keep serving the public.

“The board for Mother’s Cupboard is an amazing group of people and we rallied as always, when things get tough,” Richardson said.

Kyle Marchuk had worked with Chef Sherry in the kitchen for a few years prior to her passing. Marchuk was hired last year as the kitchen manager.

“We had a transition period of course, but Kyle took it all in stride and the kitchen management is running very well,” Richardson said.

“We are all pleased with her hard work, along with our server supervisor, Melissa Parker.”

Mother’s Cupboard is now serving up to 120 to 150 people per day, according to Richardson, and the pantry has remained well stocked thanks to several recent food drives, from the schools and others.

They have also started a program called “Freezer Friday,” where clients can take home enough frozen items to cook a meal over the weekend.

“And as always, if the shelves start to get a bit bare, the community rallies around when we let them know,” Richardson said.

Richardson also expressed gratitude for support from the public since the beginning of Mother’s Cupboard, especially during the pandemic.

“Brown County residents have always supported us in amazing ways,” she said.

“Volunteering, monetary donations, food drives and obviously, the Soup Bowl.”

According to Richardson, the Soup Bowl has always been the Cupboard’s biggest fundraiser. The funds raised from ticket sales are beneficial, let alone the totals from the silent auction.

Richardson said the large amount of items donated for the auction for this year’s event was also helpful.

“We’ve never had that many items in the past,” she said.

“Once again people were so generous and wanted — just like the board — employees and volunteers to make this the best Soup Bowl ever.”

Richardson said the cupboard’s presence is important for residents of Brown County.

“This community depends greatly on Mother’s Cupboard,” she said.

“There is a lot of food insecurity in this community that affects not only individuals and families but the elderly as well. … I think one of the things that we make sure people know and that they appreciate, is that when you come to Mother’s Cupboard for food, our motto is, ‘No questions asked.’

“We need nothing more than a name and how many meals you need.”

Richardson said things are beginning to stabilize for the non-profit.

“Our numbers have started to rise again as well as our volunteer base. However, we can always use more volunteers,” she said.

“The more we have, the easier it is to keep the doors open and maybe someday, open back up on Sunday.”