23rd SOPS volunteers donate time at local soup kitchen

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NEW BOSTON AIR FORCE STATION, N.H. (AFPN) --  Among other items, the recipe calls for 14 pounds of ground beef, 12 eggs and one quart of milk.

It yields 50 portions of meatloaf, just about right for another hot meal at the Sonshine Soup Kitchen.

Since 1989, the small soup kitchen in Derry, N.H., has served about 40 hot meals to local area residents five nights a week. Airmen with the 23rd Space Operations Squadron here volunteer their time to the kitchen as cooks, wait staff and dishwashers.

“We have volunteered our time at the soup kitchen for the last six-plus years,” said Staff Sgt. Broderick Franklin, 23rd SOPS. “It’s always easy to get a team together; everyone wants to cook.”

Once every two months, at least five Airmen here drive to Derry to prepare, cook and serve a full dinner at the soup kitchen.

“It’s so great having the base folks volunteer,” said Cynthia Dwyer, executive director of the kitchen. “They are a special group. Not only do they give our patrons a glimpse into military life, but ... they arrive with ready-made leadership and teamwork. We just give them the ingredients and off they go.”

For the 23rd SOPS Airmen, it’s about staying connected with the local communities.

“Working at the soup kitchen is just one small way 23rd SOPS gives back to the community, it’s one of many programs we participate in at the station,” said Master Sgt. Michael Clariett, 23rd SOPS first sergeant. “It is that effort throughout the year, the volunteer spirit, that brings out the pride in (our Airmen).”