As early as 9 a.m. the smell of baked chicken, fresh egg salad, bubbling turkey-vegetable soup and the vast amounts of colorful fruits and vegetables waft out of Phinney Ridge's St. John's United Lutheran Church kitchen. Makes one wonder what's the occasion for all these great smells every Monday and Wednesday afternoon.

There's only one explanation, the Phinney Neighborhood Association's Soup Kitchen Program. First established in April of 1981 by the Fremont Public Association--now known as Solid Ground--the program began as a one day a week Wednesday meal serving only soup and sandwiches to about 25 homeless and less fortunate individuals.

Michael Gregory, Phinney Neighborhood Association's Kitchen Coordinator, explains that he first got involved in 1984 when he read an article in the Ballard News-Tribune about Jesuit volunteer Michelle Long who first ran the program and was in need of volunteers.

Admiring the cause and help Long and the program was lending out to the community, Gregory at the time worked in a restaurant and luckily had Wednesdays free to lend a hand at the kitchen.

Two years in assisting with the program, the Fremont Public Association decided that they wanted to hire a full time employee to take charge of the Soup Kitchen. Gregory was hired in January of 1986 and has been the lead ever since.

In January of 1998 the Fremont Public Association asked the Phinney Neighborhood Association to take over the program and they were more than happy to.

From their initial service towards 25 people, the population of individuals they serve today has grown to about 150 to 250 people per meal.

"The population we feed are the working poor, summer construction workers getting paid minimum wage, elderly on fixed incomes, ten percent who are on meds or who should be on meds and a small population of women 55 years or older," said Mary Vollert, a volunteer for about a year. "Everyone is exceedingly courteous with their please and thank you's and it's a place for people to socialize."

Typical preparation for a soup kitchen lunch starts with Gregory sending out volunteer drivers who take turns every Tuesday and pickup donations from Food Lifeline in SODO. Food Lifeline has a program that picks up perishable food at restaurants, delis, grocery stores and even the Microsoft Campus in Redmond to get donated food.

On Monday and Tuesday they also receive donations from Seattle's Table and on Wednesday they pick up donations of bread from Phinney Ridge's Oroweat Outlet Store.

"I never know what I will have from week to week....each day I look at what I have and try to make it into a nutritious tasty meal," said Gregory.

At 8 a.m. Gregory will start setting up work stations on Monday and Wednesday for the volunteers who arrive at 9 a.m. They prepare the meal and start serving from noon to 1 p.m. But food never goes to waste because Gregory and his volunteers make sure that each person goes out with a sufficient doggy-bag of leftovers.

Food is not the only thing the program offers, volunteers and parishioners of St John's United Lutheran also provide donation of clothes, toiletries, books and anything else they believe is needed by those who often the program.

"The program has become so popular because we're up on Phinney Hill and we look out towards the Olympic Hills and the Puget Sound. It just has this incredible view from this church, so that's part of it. It's a beautiful space to be in," said Gregory. "The church doesn't charge us anything but we help with the cost of the janitor, paper and water supply."

Phinney Neighborhood Association's soup kitchen is one of six soup kitchens in the city of Seattle that is funded. They receive about $40,000 a year from the city but still opt to raise money to cover church costs, and other things needed to run the program every for about $60,000 each year.

Seasonally the soup kitchen also gets in the holiday spirit by putting together events for major holidays.

In October, the Phinney Neighborhood Association hosts an event called 'Pig Out' for the Soup Kitchen. This is where a bunch of restaurants along Phinney Avenue takes 15 percent of what they take in that day and donate it to the program. Gregory said it comes to about a several thousand dollars.

In November they have a meal the day the before Thanksgiving and in December, St John's United Lutheran Church puts up a Christmas tree and Phinney Neighborhood Association adopts families to donate gifts.

Most of the original crew that began to help with the soup kitchen in 1981 have gone and passed away but volunteers like Ida Hamilton, 25 year veteran, 12 year veteran Anna Falck, the designated soup chef and server and others who have volunteered for over 10 to 15 years are a solid group that volunteers every Wednesday afternoon.

Gregory said, "We've always been looking for volunteers because we've added days and so we need them. High school students, especially from Ballard, who need 20 hours of community service to graduate come up and volunteer on Tuesday. On Wednesdays [a majority who are senior citizens] they are a pretty constant group so we don't get too many people on that day, where they feel like they're being pushed out of their place."

Volunteers are needed to help with preparation, cooking, serving, and clean-up. Besides the Monday and Wednesday lunches, a Tuesday dinner is also available and is also in need of volunteers.

"For potential volunteers we see what their schedule is like and what their skills are, its fun and I enjoy the program," said Gregory.

Those interested in becoming a regular volunteer are asked to download a volunteer application found at www.phinneycenter.org/programs/soupkitchen.shtml and submit it to judith@phinneycenter.org.

To donate to the soup kitchen program or for more information on the Phinney Neighborhood Association visit www.phinneycenter.org or call 783-2244.

Allison Espiritu may be reached at 783-1244 or allisone@robinsonnews.com.