The Gathering Place soup kitchen is preparing to expand its services in Lincoln. On Monday morning Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders County broke ground on a new facility designed to provide more meals and additional space for people in need.
“We are here today, of course, because it is time to build a bigger table,” says Community Action CEO Heather Lockman. He says demand at the Gathering Place has increased significantly. She says the number of people showing up for meals each night has risen 58 percent over the past five years.
The Gathering Place currently prepares as many as 200 meals each night in a kitchen of about 120 square feet. The new facility will be twice the size of the current location and will include a larger kitchen, more gathering space, a loading dock and an elevator to improve accessibility.
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird says the new building will allow the Gathering Place to grow while remaining in the neighborhood where it has operated for decades. “There should always be a place at the table for our neighbors.”
Gaylor Baird says the city worked with Community Action to help make the new location possible. She says the new facility is expected to begin serving meals in 2027. The Gathering Place served more than 55,000 meals in 2024. U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts says the organization demonstrates the importance of neighbors helping neighbors.
“One of the things that government cannot do is love. Love comes from people.” The new facility will allow the Gathering Place to increase its capacity from roughly 150 to 200 people a day to about 300.
Community Action Board President Brody Weber says the organization needs to raise $5.5 million dollars for the project. “We are breaking ground, and we are opening the public phase of the Build a Bigger Table campaign.” Weber says about $2.5 million dollars remains to be raised.
The Gathering Place has served Lincoln for more than four decades. The organization says the new facility will allow that mission to continue while serving more people in the community.