Soup lines and soup kitchens are no longer a Depression-Era custom. In these post-1930s times, the Weber State University Clubs and Organizations are recognizing the needs of hungry students by providing soup and breadsticks on the 26th day of each month.
This is the third year that Sodexo and Clubs and Organizations are sponsoring the once-a-month meal. Soup will be served in the atrium of the Shepherd Union Building from 12-2 p.m.
“We realized that we needed to do something to contribute,” said Abe Saucedo, the vice president of Clubs and Organizations. “We recognize that there are hungry students on campus and we want to help out. And even though it’s only once a month, I think it does still help.”
Saucedo said Sodexo splits the cost evenly with Clubs and Organizations, and that the soup is usually the same as the soup of the day served during lunch in the Wildcat Room. According to the Dining Services Office in the Shepherd Union Building, the chef decides what soup to make. The selection of soup changes each month, and will be beef stew or something beef-based.
The free soup for students also doubles as a way for WSU clubs to showcase meetings and events they have going on and what they do on campus. Nine clubs will be sponsoring the free soup line today. Every 10-15 minutes, a club member or president will make an announcement about the soup line and talk about his or her club’s booth.
Six chairpersons delegate all of the different clubs and organizations on campus. William Eccles, one of the academic club chairs, is in charge of October’s free soup day. Nine science- and technology-based clubs will be sponsoring the free soup, including the Chemistry Club and the Society of Women Engineers.
Cassandra Olson, the vice president of SWE, said she expects at least four members of the club to be at the event. The SWE club currently has 10-15 active members, according to Olson, and the members will be talking to interested students and recruiting new members.
“Mostly (we) just have a booth that will be promoting our club and another club in our college,” Olson said.
Eccles said he expects at least a few hundred students to come to the Atrium to receive the free meal. Saucedo said that every free soup day, 300-400 students are served.
“There should be a bunch of people,” Eccles said. “A lot of students come through the union building, especially when it’s cold outside.”
According to the WSU Student Association, the free soup day is for everybody and is a way to give back to campus, and the senate tries to contribute any way it can. Text messages will be sent out to those students who have subscribed to WSUSA alerts.
