Provo coalition for homeless getting new facility

PROVO — It's 4 p.m. Thursday, and the first customers for dinner have started to filter into the Food & Care Coalition's downtown soup kitchen.

Six teenage volunteers are setting places with plastic cups and utensils. A large bowl of cabbage salad sits on the counter while soup bubbles in a large stockpot on the stove in the cramped kitchen. Before the meal is over, it will be standing room only.

"Just last night we fed 140 for dinner," says Kenneth Larsen, kitchen supervisor and one of six full-time employees for the coalition, as he shows off the facility's cramped freezer and produce cooler, both so full that he may have to turn away food donations that require refrigeration.

But that's all about to change. One day next week, after city inspectors give the final OK, Larsen will light the burners in a brand new, $11 million facility in Provo's East Bay industrial park and the county's homeless community will have a new place to break bread — but not to lay their heads, at least not yet.

For Brent Crane, executive director of the coalition since 1993, the new building is the realization of a longtime dream.

"What we are trying to do here is to set the table for our clientele in a place that is uplifting and positive, where we can help them deal with their problems," Crane said. "We have raised the bar with this building."

Crane and his staff are showing off the building this week. An open house was held Thursday night for members of the board of directors and other supporters of the coalition.

The public is invited to a grand opening today from 1 to 4 p.m. at the building, located at 299 E. 900 South.

Tours will continue next week after the final walk-through for the coalition's clients, the county's homeless who number around 200 at any given time, although that fluctuates on a daily basis.

The 36,000-square-foot facility, which sits on almost five acres of landscaped property, is not your traditional soup kitchen.

"It's an inspiring facility, and no one would guess it's a homeless shelter," Crane said. "We want our clients to reconnect with the community. Many of them are on the outside looking in."

In addition to the kitchen and dining area, the new facility will offer a full-service dental clinic, a licensed clinical therapist on staff, laundry and shower services, a barbershop and classrooms available to community groups. Most of the furnishings have been donated or offered to the coalition at a reduced cost.