Miss Ellen and The Daily Bread Soup Kitchen

My wife Karen and I moved into our house on Elm Blvd. in 1983, two doors down from Ellen and Austin McDowell. I would occasionally say “Hi” and engage in polite conversation in those early days on The Boulevard. We had a cordial acquaintance as neighbors, but in those early years I was consumed by working and traveling and being a husband and a father to three kids, so there wasn’t much time left for me to really get to know her and all that she was.

During that same period, Karen taught English and other subjects at St. Matthew School for almost 30 years. One of her favorite and most impactful things she did with her 7th-graders was take them on on day trips to local organizations such as Catholic Worker House, Crisis Nursery, Food Bank, Matthew House, Boys & Girls Club, and various Nursing Homes. She wanted to expose her students to these corners of life just off their beaten path and shine on a light on the important social issues of which they should be aware.

Years later after Karen retired from teaching, she was recruited to become a volunteer at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen (DBSK), and through Karen I started to learn much more about “Miss Ellen” (Ellen McDowell) who was the founder of the Soup Kitchen and the “President Emeritus” to the army of volunteers that cooked and served hot meals seven days a week to hundreds of guests each day.

I was asked to help videotape an interview with Miss Ellen in her home, conducted by long-time DBSK volunteer Ruth Ann Evans. Once I got the camera set up and rolling, I was able to sit back and watch and listen to the interview with Miss Ellen and in that hour, I came to realize by her stories what an amazing lady she was, with so much wisdom founded by experience that she daily “paid forward” to DBSK’s guests and volunteers. During that interview, Miss Ellen revealed those moments in her life that informed her actions and how she came to found DBSK.

She talked about growing up in a segregated area of East St. Louis which opened her heart to the importance of inclusivity of all peoples, especially those less fortunate. She talked about the sad fact that there are “haves and have-nots” in this world who are “cut off from all the things that make for a good life”. She developed a resolve early on to do something about that, and that she did!

Ellen McDowell was with the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen since its inception as part of the Catholic Worker House on University Avenue in Urbana, beginning in 1980. At that time, the Soup Kitchen on a busy day served 30 to 40 guests, mostly street people, homeless, mentally ill, immigrants, seasonal fruit pickers, and stranded folk. There were very few women or children. Since those early days, the Soup Kitchen has continuously improved and expanded its capacity to meet the needs of the community, now serving a hot meal + sack lunch every day to 400-500 guests.

Miss Ellen had a regular habit of walking around DBSK greeting guests and creating an environment of civility and mutual respect among and between the guests and volunteers. She admitted that DBSK was not perfect because people are not perfect. She said “every day was different,” and every day brought new joys and new challenges. She understood that when guests are hungry, fearful, destitute (homeless), and beaten down, the stress of raw emotions can spark an argument, even a fight. But she saw this as an opportunity for listening, comfort, a chance to provide a warm place for a hot meal and if only for a moment, a place to relax and let down one’s guard before going out and facing the world.

In that interview, she was very humble about the status of DBSK within the overall community infrastructure. Her philosophy was to not shoot for “greatness,“ but daily, simple, marginal improvements, “…like water wearing away rock over time.“ Building on that philosophy, there are three important reasons how DBSK has been able to sustain itself since it’s formation in 2009:

• DBSK receives no government funding.

• All of our funding comes from individual donations and local grants, and

• We have no paid staff. We are 100% volunteer supported.

The achievements and value Miss Ellen contributed to our community cannot be overstated when recognizing the good food, goodwill, and good humanity that has been served up day after day, for decades. Ellen McDowell, 99, of Champaign passed away Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, at her home. (obituary)

We all miss her dearly!