David Lumpkin had an idea to help the DeKalb community.

Along with friends, that idea became Feed ‘Em Soup Community Project, a nonprofit organization serving the DeKalb and Sycamore communities.

“This is an opportunity for us to serve people who don’t often get served,” said David Lumpkin, president and founding member of Feed ‘Em Soup.

The project strives to provide a restaurant style meal for anyone who would like to come. A hostess will seat you, followed by a waitress coming to the table to take your order and serve you a meal. Beethoven music plays in the background as you eat and talk with friends.

The project was conceived in January 2010 and by September they had served their first meal to the community.

Starting with a few volunteers and 40 people to serve, it has grown to a bi-monthly event that serves 150-170 people.

There are many people in the area that go days without eating, especially during this hard economic time, Lumpkin said. The founding members saw that there was a need in the area and wanted to start an organization to fill that need.

“It is a big help for people without too much income,” said local resident Gary Mullis.

The project has had an amazing response from the local community, said Janessa Davis-Falco, one of the founding members of Feed ‘Em Soup. In the beginning people were unsure that young adults could truly succeed in this endeavor in a lasting way, but their minds were soon changed, Davis-Falco said.

“The community has a reason to trust us,” Davis-Falco said. “They began to embrace us quickly.”

There are many differences that make Feed ‘Em Soup unique.

“We are a grassroots group that is run entirely by a core group of 25 core members and six board members,” Lumpkin said.

Lumpkin said the retention rate of volunteers is so high there is a backlog.

“I had a fantastic experience growing up in the area and it felt natural to say yes and give back to the community,” Davis-Falco said. “I had no hesitation from day one.”