((PKG)) A PASSION FOR FEEDING THE UNDERPRIVILEGED
((TRT: 9:10))
((Topic Banner: A Passion for Feeding the Underprivileged))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor: June Soh))
((Map: Ashburn, Virginia))
((Main characters: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
We take food safety very seriously in the soup kitchen because these are communities that need to be kept safe. So, we check the temperature of our protein. We need the temperature of the chicken to be 165 degrees or more. It looks like it's pretty well done.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
My name is Devina Mahapatra. I am the founder of the Dulles South Soup Kitchen. When we moved to this area, we were looking for a soup kitchen to volunteer at. I have always been a volunteer in a soup kitchen. I like to feed people. But after looking a lot, I did not find a soup kitchen in Loudoun County. And so, after talking to a few people, I decided that, you know, I'm just going to have to start one. And that's how the Dulles South Soup kitchen was started in November of 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic. We are located in Loudoun County in northern Virginia, about 30 miles from Washington, D.C.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
I believe that no one should ever go to bed hungry. You know, we have to have equitable food available to everybody. That was one of the reasons I started this soup kitchen.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
So, this chicken has been marinated overnight. That's how we get the flavors to be really good. This is chicken that comes to us. We purchase some of the chicken and we get some chicken donated.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
I moved to the United States when I was 21. I was brought up in India for the most part of my life, early life. And I remember, very early, my grandmother telling me that no matter what you do, if you're giving something to another person in need, you should give it with dignity and you should give it with respect.
((NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
I learned cooking very young. I was always interested in cooking.
As a very young girl, I would make breakfast for my dad every morning. That was my job. My cousins would always come home because they knew that I would definitely make something. And that just went on as an adult and I still enjoy cooking.
((NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
So, we've made this fresh tomato and cucumber salsa this morning. This goes into our fajita bowls.
((NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
Saira is our full-time cook. She's been with the kitchen since June of 2021. She normally will come up with what other meals she wants to give based on the donations we've received.
((NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
These vegetables are donated to us by a high school group of students. They are the ones who recovered this fresh produce from farmers’ markets.
((NATS))
((NATS: Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
So, in a month, we provide anywhere from 2,800 to 3,000 meals.
These are people who are hungry. They're homeless. They're food insecure. Food insecurity is huge. When we're in Loudoun County, and it's such a rich county, hunger shows up as food insecurity, where people need to make the choice of whether they should spend their money on rent or should they go buy grocery. These are people who work. They have more than one jobs many times. So, the soup kitchen’s mission is that we continue to provide healthy, nutritious food to anybody who asks. We don't do any background checks. We always allow a lot of dignity.
So, this kitchen has been donated to us by someone in our community.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
Alright. So, these meals are going to be taken to my home and the volunteers are going to come this evening to pick it up and take it for distribution.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
Every two weeks, we're actually delivering some value back to our stakeholders. That is the whole point of Agile. The highest priority is...
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
I work full time for a technology company as an Agile coach. An Agile coach is someone who coaches teams on how to deliver software better and faster. Because I work from home full time, it gives me a lot of flexibility to be able to work the kitchen and my job together. I don't have driving time and I'm able to be present in work for the entire amount and then in the kitchen for the remaining amount.
((NATS: Devina and Anisha))
Hey, Mom.
Hi, you guys are back?
Yep.
How was your day?
It was good.
((NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
I don't get much time to be with the kids. So, whatever time I get,
I love to do it. Between work and the soup kitchen, there's very little time I get. So, they are the joy of my life.
((Courtesy: Facebook))
So, I have many young volunteers as part of the soup kitchen. I try to make sure that the youth is involved early, so that they make giving part of what their life is going to be.
((end Courtesy))
((Anisha Nanda
Daughter))
Anisha and Yash, my two children, are part of the volunteers as well.
((NATS))
((Anisha Nanda
Daughter))
A couple of years ago, when my mom first opened the soup kitchen, I started out as like a volunteer, kind of going to the distributions and helping giving people meals when they needed it. And then, as I kind of was helping more, I developed a passion for…I wanted to make more of a difference in the service that I was doing. So, I decided to start making Instagram posts and help her with her social media outreach. And here I am today, as a board member who's in charge of all of that.
((NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
So, families do not come to the soup kitchen location to pick up food. We bring the food to the distribution site, so that we make it easier for these people to pick up their food.
((NATS: Devina, Anisha and Yash distributing food))
Enjoy.
Thank you so much. Of course. Thank you.
((NATS))
((Soup Kitchen Customer))
This has helped my family of four. It really helps us extend our budget because the price of everything going up, everything. It's…and I live on a fixed income, Social Security disability. I have a broken hip, and a broken pelvis, and two lungs collapsed. And it just helps my family, these little extra meals.
((NATS))
((Soup Kitchen Customer))
No, not enough income. I work, and I'm here with my sister. And we, we just get by. We try and, and my nieces and nephew, we, we try to take care. Because of the soup kitchen, we have, we have dinner tonight.
((NATS: Anisha, Soup Kitchen Customer, Devina))
Thank you.
Thank you so much for this. Thank you.
You got it?
Alright. Thank you so much for helping today.
Bye.
Bye.
((NATS))
((Devina Mahapatra
Founder, Dulles South Soup Kitchen))
Five years from now, I expect to be distributing at multiple sites, so that access to this food gets very easy. I also want to start a culinary school, so that I'm able to make sure that people find a way to make an income.
((NATS/MUSIC))