By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-941778.mp3
Dallas, TX – Five hundred hungry & homeless people from Dallas get a merry Christmas tomorrow, thanks to the Soup Man and a volunteer army. KERA's Bill Zeeble says it's the 6th straight year for the event at the Hyatt Regency.
Soup Man Dave Timothy, who founded Dallas's non-profit soup mobile, says, in the spirit of the season, those without deserve a place at the Inn. He and his 1500 helpers will once again bring 500 people into the Hyatt, where they'll eat, stay the night, and get a gift.
Timothy: Things have gotten worse. Definitely in the last 2 years not only are the homeless numbers up, but it's a different kind of homeless now that is coming into the homeless community.
Timothy is now seeing more of those who used to belong to the middle class. He and his volunteers will keep doing what they do, but acknowledge the task today is tougher.
Timothy: The price of food has gone up. What we pay per pound, even though we buy in bulk, and at discount, the price has gone up.
Dave Timothy says his sponsors have come through and smaller donors stepped up, so the non-profit has not cut its services.