Salvation Army kitchen getting upgrade

John Bilyeu cuts a section of sidewalk on the kitchen side of the Salvation Army Center of Hope. He is cutting to make way for a larger grease trap for the commercial kitchen. On the inside, co-workers cut sections of concrete to replace the existing two-inch water pipe with three-inch pipe. The kitchen will also replace their three-sink dishwashing station with a new automated dishwasher.
John Bilyeu cuts a section of sidewalk on the kitchen side of the Salvation Army Center of Hope. He is cutting to make way for a larger grease trap for the commercial kitchen. On the inside, co-workers cut sections of concrete to replace the existing two-inch water pipe with three-inch pipe. The kitchen will also replace their three-sink dishwashing station with a new automated dishwasher.

The screeches of a concrete saw dissipated in the empty Lohman Prayer Garden as contractors worked on the $36,000 renovations to the Salvation Army's Center of Hope's kitchen on Tuesday morning in Jefferson City.

The machine kicked enough dirt and dust into the air to create a gritty taste in the mouth of anyone walking through the back door of the building to the kitchen.

Inside that door two men were using shovels to break apart the kitchen floor and get to the plumbing underneath.

The crew on the outside where finishing removing the kitchen's old grease trap.

The renovation will supply the kitchen with a new dishwasher, sinks, range, flooring and plumbing, including a new grease trap. The majority of the funding, around $22,000, came from a United Way grant that the army applied for, said Lt. Christopher White. The rest of the money is coming from the army's capital project funds. The projected completion date by Bilyeu John Plumbing is this Friday, but more realistically early next week.

"All of this will save money on our maintenance cost, and hopefully that is extra money we can put into our programs and our services," White said. "Our services are not affected (by the project). We are still offering three meals a day, seven days a week."

Before the renovation the kitchen could serve anywhere between 50 and 90 people, and it will be able to serve about the same amount afterward, White said. However, the renovations will give the patrons of the center a higher standard of service, and more sanitary meals. Before the renovations it would "be a stretch" to serve the maximum amount of people, but afterward the center can more easily accommodate the higher numbers, White said.

It will also give volunteers a chance to work with better and more efficient equipment, White said.

He explained that previously all the dishes were washed by hand, and although that is acceptable, the center is going to be replacing the old method with an industrial dishwasher.