A northern Illinois soup kitchen, pop-up pantry and clothing closet is moving to a newly-renovated but smaller space.
Feed'Em Soup currently hosts four free meals per week, but they will start adding two more meals per week beginning in the fall. The extra meals will make up for the lack of space that will come with moving to their new location on Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.
"The other one's maybe a third of that [old dining room], so we're going to have to really maximize getting things done," kitchen volunteer Kurt Lang said.
Office manager and volunteer coordinator Noelle Stanbery said the new location, which used to be a Thai restaurant, was already renovated by the previous owner when the community service group signed the lease.
Stanbery said the rent in the new space will save the organization $700 in rent and 75 percent in utilities per month. She says that's something to consider for patron comfort.
?"It's not really fair for them to sit in a cold atmosphere and eat dinner because we can't afford to keep the heat on," Stanbery said.
Stanbery said the goal is to open the new location this week.