Enduring Freedom Ministries soup kitchen improvements meet growing need

Apr. 13—SHUMWAY — A local soup kitchen is growing and plans to host an open house this weekend so the public can see its progress.

Enduring Freedom Ministries will open its doors Saturday, April 17, at the old Shumway Grade School from 1 to 4 p.m. It's located at the intersection of Illinois Route 33 and West Street in Shumway.

"Everyone is invited to tour the facility to meet and greet with the businesses and individuals that made the Five and Two Restaurant what it is today," Enduring Freedom Ministries Director Vickie Kight said.

EFM has added a new commercial kitchen in its pole barn after workers outgrew the small kitchen located in the grade school building. The soup kitchen started in June 2018 serving 400 people a month. Now it is serving 1,500 a month.

Kight said they will also be celebrating the Governor's Hometown Award for the Healthy Futures category the Village of Shumway and Enduring Freedom Ministries received.

The original soup kitchen of EFM, which also has a food bank distribution service, could only accommodate two cooks at a time.

A seating area for the soup kitchen, known as the Five and Two restaurant, was established in a pole barn attached to the south side of the grade school. It had an asphalt floor from the original grade school playground. The playground floor was lower than the original grade school floor requiring the creation of a ramp from the pole barn floor up to the grade school floor.

The pole barn is dedicated in memory of Fred A. Lagerhausen, who served in the United States Army Seventh Division 31st Infantry Regiment, during the Korean War. Lagerhausen participated in Operation Smack.

At the time the pole barn was added, Fred A. Lagerhausen's son, Emil Lagerhausen, and Melissa Lagerhausen were owners of the Shumway Grade School building and attached pole barn before donating the property to EFM in 2019.

Late last year EFM started making improvements through donations of labor and materials from M.B.I. Construction, Sherwin-Williams and CCI Redi-Mix Concrete, all of Effingham. They helped remove the original asphalt playground floor in the pole barn and replaced it with a new finished concrete floor making the soup kitchen seating area even with the floor of the original grade school building.

Assisting on the pole barn improvement project was Beecher City High School sophomore Kenny Robbins of Shumway. Robbins is volunteering his time to work on the pole barn as a community service project with the ultimate goal of becoming Eagle Scout.

Also helping with the pole barn improvement project were several volunteers. Pyramid Marble and Bob's Discount Improvement Center donated countertops, Bob's Discount Improvement Center also donated kitchen cabinets, Community of Christ Church of Effingham and Probst Refrigeration and Heating donated a range hood and stove. A refrigerator was donated by Wolff Dairy in Altamont, with dry wall and painting donated by RMS Home Repair and Remodeling, and John Boos & Co. donated butcher block countertops and all of the stainless steel in the new kitchen to include a new sink.

Those attending the EFM open house can draw to win prizes. A special guest is providing musical entertainment.

"We will have plenty of food and 'Elvis' (Riley Jenkins) is performing," Kight said. "Everything is free. Come join us!"

For questions call Enduring Freedom Ministries at 217-240-0059.

Charles Mills can be reached at charles.mills@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 217-347-7151 ext. 126.