We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marlene Mejia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marlene , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

My journey to becoming the CEO of The Soup Kitchen in Boynton Beach came simply from volunteering there. I fell in love with the place in 2000 and regularly volunteered for 11 years, before joining their board of directors. Eight years later I was named Vice President and then Executive Director/CEO in 2020. Last year the Soup Kitchen celebrated its 40th year, and I have been privileged to have been involved with them for over 24 years. And it was all because I was a volunteer and fell in love with the organization.

The Soup Kitchen serves 1,100 hot meals every day, 365 days a year. We also distribute over 800,000 grocery bags of food annually and serve over 100 homebound seniors with our Meals on Wheels program. Last year, we saved over $13 million in food from being thrown away. Our Taking Care of our Babies program provides diapers, education, wipes, and formula to needing mothers. How can we do this all with 5 full-time employees and zero funding from the government? Because we’re a volunteer-driven organization. That’s why 94 cents of every dollar spent at TSK goes directly to programs, because of our wonderful volunteers.

When you can donate your time to something you love, wonderful things happen. The most interesting thing is that my passion for helping people, motivating volunteers, and feeding the hungry has only increased as the need for our organization has grown.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Little did I know when I was growing up that my father speaking English to me and my mother speaking Spanish to me would be such a positive and determining asset in my life. The gift of being bi-lingual and bi-cultural is a tremendous pathway to meaningful communication and understanding. It has served me well to be able to appreciate many cultures and honor them with compassion and dignity. These skills have been invaluable to my career as I’ve been able to communicate on so many different levels from CEOs to political leaders to volunteers to the homeless.

The tag line of The Soup Kitchen logo is: Feeding the Heart, Mind, & Body. You simply can’t make good decisions on an empty stomach. It is an honor to get up early each day and focus on serving hot meals to anyone who walks through our doors. While those lines only grow and don’t diminish, the promising thing are the success stories that we hear. Too often, people think that hunger affects only the homeless, but in fact the working class who are struggling to make ends meet are often in need… and we are there for them.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Surround yourself with people who inspire you. I see it every day. I’m inspired by our staff and their dedication to our mission. I’m inspired by our volunteers who donate their time to better our community. And I’m inspired by the food insecure who ignore the stigmas and understand that feeding their families is the most important thing to transforming their lives.

Here’s a tip that has served me well. Every single day, get out of your comfort zone. Bring an open mind to your job every day. Before joining The Soup Kitchen, I was an event planner and wanted to know every little thing that was to happen. Now, I come to work expecting the unexpected. It makes things exciting. Challenges are exciting and the enemy to boredom. I never know who is going to come through the door in need and we never know what foods will be donated that day. Regardless of the challenges life throws at us… we will make it work and continue to help those in need.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

We have found it both inspiring and effective to have a morning pre-shift meeting with our volunteers and staff prior to opening the doors. This is the best time to motivate and communicate to everyone on the team. These pep talks are so meaningful to our new volunteers so they can feel the love in the room… and know that together we will be successful that day no matter what. If you truly want to manage a team, then become the coach and address your team before the day. Make these meetings fun and welcoming for everyone involved.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesoupkitchen.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesoupkitchenofboyntonbeach
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesoupkitchen
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesoupkitchen
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TSKBOYNTON

Image Credits
Courtesy of The Soup Kitchen