Soup kitchen to open in Mullingar

A soup kitchen to feed Mullingar’s needy is set to open in the coming months.

The voluntary organisation Irish Soup Kitchens, which serves 3,500 hot meals a week at four centres countrywide, is planning to open facilities in both Mullingar and Athlone later this year.

Founder Mark O’Neill said they have been asked by several public representatives to locate centres in Mullingar and Athlone as they are “badly needed” and after studying the council figures, he has agreed.

He said: “Mullingar will be first, then Athlone. I would hope to have both open within three to six months. Before the end of the year I’d hope to have the four open (also Loughrea and Galway).

“We’ll be looking for a premises with planning in place, possibly as a cafe and a restaurant. That’s what we have done so far.”

Irish Soup Kitchen Centres currently operates soup kitchens in Navan, Drogheda, Balbriggan and Dundalk.

“We would reckon in all that we’ll be serving 700 to 1,000 hot meals a week (in each Westmeath soup kitchen). I’d imagine we’ll be distributing 200 food hampers a week as well, each of those has food worth €150 to €200.”

People from “all walks of life” come to them for help, Mark said, but they have noticed increases in the so-called ‘working poor’ requesting assistance or others adversely affected by the housing crisis, who are homeless or have addiction issues. Some families don’t like the idea of going to a soup kitchen so the group deliver food parcels to their houses instead.

“At the end of the day I’ve called to deliver food parcels to nice houses with nice cars outside but unfortunately since 2007 they are still on the rebound.”

Once bills are paid there is little left for food in the budgets of these so-called “working poor” and there is an element of trying to pretend they are doing okay to neighbours or they are bidding to protect children.

“One lady opened all the presses and the fridge and there was very little in there, and she had three kids. There are people out there hiding an awful lot. They are trying to keep up with the times but they are struggling at the back of it,” he said.

While things are improving for some, and he has seen a drop in need in Drogheda with people getting jobs, others are not so lucky as living costs have risen or they lose their rented home.

“We sit down and have a friendly chat with everyone who comes in and see where their problem lies, and then put them in touch with various organisations,” he told the Westmeath Examiner, saying that they want to help people availing of the service to improve their lives by treating them with dignity.

However, he stressed there is no criteria for anyone seeking help.

A former publican and property developer, Mark said that he had got out before the crash and had done well.

He set up Irish Soup Kitchen Centres, a fully voluntary organisation, in 2013, after a major health scare.

“I had a quadruple bypass and I was just sitting around twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do. I had nothing to occupy my time,” he said.

His daughter suggested that he set up a soup kitchen to help alleviate poverty, and after looking into it, he decided on Drogheda, where he had previously run a pub and knew there was a need for such a service.

After setting up a board and putting the organisation in place, he opened his first centre in the town in 2015.

“I’ve had a lot of luck in life and it’s nice to spread it out. I put money into it in the beginning because I know the good it is doing.

“The smile of people when they come in and to see people putting on weight is the drive that keeps me going. It’s a great feeling,” he said, saying they rely on donations of food and money to help to keep the four centres going, at an estimated cost of €285,000 a year.

“If anyone would like to volunteer, give me a buzz. It’s volunteers who make the whole situation happen. Anyone who knows of a suitable premises, get in touch too. The centres (in Mullingar and Athlone) will be open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm so in most places you would need 30 to 40 volunteers on rotation to get it up and running,” Mr O’Neill said.

Anyone who is willing to help out to get the Mullingar soup kitchen up and running, make a donation, or request a food parcel, can call Mark O’Neill on 085 8811112 or email him at: infomarkoneill@gmail.com.