The Tryon Fire Department and Polk County Sheriff’s Office will host their second soup kitchen on Saturday, Feb. 11 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Tryon Fire Department. Citizens are invited to enjoy a hot bowl of soup on what promises to be a cool Saturday afternoon. Containers of soup will be available to take home as well.
New this month is a cook-off competition. Local chefs will bring their favorite creations for judging by a panel of five judges. For a small minimum donation, you can sample soup from each chef and vote for your favorite to win the People’s Choice award.
Restaurants and chefs competing will include: Nana’s Kitchen, Elmo’s, Side Street Pizza, The Meeting Place, Sheriff Donald Hill, Tryon Daily Bulletin’s resident chef Leah Justice, Larkin’s, White Oak of Tryon, Tryon Estates, Mountain View BBQ, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and Silla Beiler and Martina Schlabach of Foothills Community Chapel.
The judges for the event will be St. Luke’s Hospital CEO Ken Shull, Tryon Police Chief Jeff Arrowood, Tryon Mayor Pro Tempore Roy Miller, Polk County IT Director and Magistrate Marche Pittman and Tryon Fire Chief and Interim Town Manager Joey Davis.
“We’ve been impressed that donations have come in not only locally in Polk County but also as far away as Asheville to make sure this program continues,” said Chief Davis. “What started as the brainstorm of Captain Kim Pack has now turned into an outpouring of support from our community.”
“For years we’ve been doing the Sheriff’s Fund for the Needy,” said Sheriff Hill. “What Kim saw as requests came in was the need for a hearty meal and simple companionship more so than what we’ve seen in the past. Quite simply it’s our job to respond to the need. We’ve had a good working relationship with the Tryon Fire Department the last few years assisting those in need – thanks to the seasonal assistance grants we’ve both received from the Polk County Community Foundation. Thus, it’s a natural partnership that we hope becomes a long-term event.”
“Donations – of all kinds – are what makes this work,” Pack said. “I really appreciate Foothills Community Chapel for the donations of homemade breads and desserts, and also Charles Weinhagen of U.S. Foods for his assistance and donations. It’s people like these folks that help make this such a team effort – and make it such a success.”
Plans are under way for an even bigger event in March, but donations are needed to ensure the continued success of the soup kitchen. For more information, contact Pack at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 828-894-3001.
– article submitted
by Tryon Fire Chief Joey Davis