For a Good Cause -- Mike Kellar

-- Story by June Casagrande; photo by Greg Fry

Indifference is not an option. Not for Mike Kellar, not when it comes

to hunger and homelessness. To many, these are baffling problems, but to

Kellar the answer is clear and simple: Do something.

And he does. Every Wednesday for about 3 1/2 years, the 49-year-old

Anaheim resident arrives at 9 a.m. at Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa

Mesa. Just like countless prep cooks in countless restaurant kitchens

across the country, he slices and mixes and washes. But, unlike so many

other workers in stainless steel kitchens, he works for free.

“I can’t not do this,” Kellar said. “People are hungry.”

Five days a week, he works as a delivery driver for a bakery. Of his

two days off, he gives a full day each week to the nonprofit soup kitchen

that serves about 250 homeless, hungry and working poor each day.

“The people who come here are just like us -- they have the same wants

and needs as everybody else,” Kellar said.

The nonprofit soup kitchen has been a part of the Costa Mesa community

for 15 years. It operated out of churches and other community facilities

until about four years ago, when it found a permanent home on 19th Street

in Costa Mesa. There the kitchen’s six paid staff members and about 100

volunteers serve lunch Monday through Friday and breakfast on Saturday.

Starting this week, it has become a seven-day-a-week operation,

opening its doors on Sunday. Volunteers to work Sundays are badly needed,

Development Director George Neureuthers said.

The nonprofit charity, which is not affiliated with any church or

other social service group, relies on grants and donations of money and

food. Whatever fresh fruits and vegetables the kitchen receives from

local grocery stores’ donations go into the salads Kellar and other

volunteers make each day.

After slicing and mixing fruits and vegetables in the morning, Kellar

goes into the dining room to help with the buffet-style service for the

individuals and families who depend on Someone Cares for basic

sustenance. When the dining room closes its doors at 4 p.m., Kellar is

there to help clean up before he heads home after a long, rewarding day.

“A lot of times the people will come around and thank everyone, but

you don’t do this to be thanked, so it feels a little funny,” said

Kellar, who said his 1960s upbringing taught him concern for others.

“Doing this just makes my soul feel good.”

FYI

Volunteers are needed, especially on Sundays, to prepare and serve

food at Someone Cares Soup Kitchen. Call (949) 548-8861.