Casey Campbell/Gazette-Times Sue Schulz of Corvallis’ First Christian Church unloads a delivery of items received from Linn-Benton Food Share.

Stone Soup Sue’ wages war on hunger
By Carol Reeves

The meals coordinator says she’s "been fed by feeding others"
If it weren’t for Sue Schulz, hundreds of people in Corvallis would go hungry on the weekends.

As the Stone Soup coordinator at First Christian Church, Schulz is responsible for planning menus and recruiting workers to host a Saturday breakfast and Sunday dinner each week. She also helps secure food for the Circle of Hope drop-in center for residents coping with mental illness or homelessness.

“It’s hard to imagine so many people living in the Willamette Valley can be hungry, but they are,” Schulz said.

Every other Friday, Schulz arrives at the church around 9 a.m. to welcome the Linn-

BentonFood Share van carrying up to 600 pounds of food “rescued” from Oregon State University’s food service and catering departments. Everything from pizza to meatballs to leftover casseroles and vegetable dishes might show up in sealed tubs, which Schulz sorts through before deciding each weekend’s menu. What she can’t use immediately, she freezes for future weekends.

Flexibility is the key, Schulz said.

“We just take what we have,” she said, “and turn it into something that will feed everyone.”

Thebiggest surprise one week was a large amount of sauerkraut, which she served with hot dogs. Luckily, she said, one of her cooks had a great recipe for chocolate cake made with sauerkraut.

Schulz got involved with the church’s meal ministry when she and her husband became members 25 years ago. She volunteered to help with Meals on Wheels and took her two preschool daughters with her to deliver food to shut-ins.

Now she’s passing on a legacy of helping the less fortunate to her grandchildren. Her youngest, Elliana, frequently helps her sort through food deliveries and “shop” at the Linn-Benton Food Share warehouse. The others help during the summer or when they are out of school.

Not a day goes by that she’s not asked to pick up a donation from a local business, called by a volunteer who needs to reschedule, or planning, cooking or serving meals herself. But Schulz wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Until you’ve handed a plate of food to a hungry person ... ,” she said. “It just fills you up. I have truly been fed by feeding others.”

Carol Reeves covers religion for the Gazette-Times.

Sue Schulz
Age: 55.
Residence: Corvallis.
Occupation: Retired elementary school cook.
Family: Husband Bob; daughters Lisa Schulz and Amy Berry; four grandchildren.
Hobbies: Skiing, fishing and hiking with her husband.
Misc.: Known around town as “Stone Soup Sue” for her soup kitchen work; pies are her favorite food to prepare.