Tuesday Soup at Aaron’s Place

Every Tuesday at 11 a.m., the doors of Aaron’s Place on Aldersgate Drive in Denton open for the weekly soup kitchen. The food pantry and resource center, owned by Cheryl Beulah, has been operating the soup kitchen for more than four years. Aaron’s Place also operates nine satellite sites across Caroline County. The soup kitchen grew out of the food pantry’s mission to help those in need. Beulah said she thought, “We have food, why can’t I serve them a hot meal?”

Chef Eric Cunningham II, a full-time chef himself, arrives early to volunteer each Tuesday to prepare the soup. Chicken noodle is one of the main soups he offers, but he said he has to work with what Aaron’s Place is being given. Helping in the kitchen is volunteer Ester Nichols, who has been with the soup kitchen for three months but used to work in the food pantry.

The soup kitchen serves an average of 30 people each week, though attendance can range from 10 to over 60. Any leftovers are packaged and given out to those visiting Aaron’s Place later in the week.

The dining area is set up like a café, with booths and tables meant to create a welcoming atmosphere. “That is what Aaron’s Place is representative of. We want you to feel at home…to feel the love and the warmth,”

Beulah said. Aaron’s Place is named after her late father, who “would have loved everybody coming through here,” she said. Beulah said what they need most is “money, volunteers, food,” in that order. “What I value…is volunteer time. This is really, really hard work.” Aaron’s Place is still processing the recent loss of Beulah’s right-hand gal, Janie Dobson Ricketts, who she called “that brilliant smile, that ease of comfort.”