[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14650]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               IN HONOR OF THE SAINT FRANCIS SOUP KITCHEN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 5, 2007

  Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the achievements of 
the Saint Francis Soup Kitchen, which recently celebrated its 25th year 
of service in the Santa Cruz community. St. Francis is an organization 
founded and run by volunteers who love to help others. In the 25 years 
that it has been around, St. Francis has fed and clothed countless 
people who are in need. The city of Santa Cruz has approximately 400 
people who are homeless, yet St. Francis is one way in which the 
community is trying to help the problem.
  Father Peter Carota deserves special recognition as the founder of 
the St. Francis Soup Kitchen. In 1981, when still a layman, Peter sold 
his home and used the money to start St. Francis. Feeding the poor out 
of the back of a van, Peter Carota began his dream of running a soup 
kitchen to feed the homeless. A few years later, in 1983, Peter and 
some volunteers purchased the property of the current soup kitchen and 
St. Francis was born. Peter has since become a priest, but his work at 
St. Francis is carried on by devoted volunteers.
  The soup kitchen was founded to help people in need and that is 
exactly what it does. The kitchen never turns a hungry person away and 
feeds up to 180 people at lunch every weekday. St. Francis not only 
provides free lunch every day to the homeless, it also operates a 
clothing room that provides donated clothes free of charge to guests. 
However, St. Francis could not function without the support of the 
dedicated volunteers and the help drawn from churches, high schools, UC 
Santa Cruz, and the broader community.
  Madam Speaker, the St. Francis Soup Kitchen has contributed so much 
to the city of Santa Cruz and the surrounding community; I have only 
scratched the surface of its beneficial and compassionate dedication. I 
commend the St. Francis Soup Kitchen for all that it has done in its 25 
years, and I hope that it will continue for another 25 with the same 
service, attitude, and contribution to the community.

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