Gulfport soup kitchen celebrates 40 years of service

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Feed My Sheep, a faith-based program based in Gulfport, celebrates 40 years of serving the needy in its community.

Locals have come together to show appreciation for the program on its anniversary.

Ronald Wetmore is one of those people. He lives in a van and went to Feed My Sheep in Gulfport for the first time after going 10 days without food. He said the soup kitchen saved his life.

“It’s helped me out a whole lot,” Wetmore said. “You just survive and that’s what I did. I know a lot of people can’t think about that. But when it happens, it happens, you do what you have to do to survive.”

Jeff Fultz said the help he gets from the kitchen is invaluable.

“They’ve been really good,” Fultz said. “They’ve even given my dog food when I need it and I’m homeless, so they help me out they’ve been really good.”

Volunteers Mattie Madden said she works to follow the example of Jesus Christ.

“You know it’s all about serving it’s about what you do to help serve others,” Madden said. “That is basically what it’s all about. Doing whatever I can to help someone else.”

Director David Lion said he and other staff members will continue to carry the Christian spirit in everything they do for the next 40 years.

“We look for the day when we can shut the doors to this place when everybody has food and has plenty of it, but until that day, we’re going to keep serving the needs of the community,” Lion said. “We have tremendous community support over the years, and I just hope it continues.”

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