COSTA MESA : Soup Kitchen Meal Is Easter Tradition

Clutching a brown teddy bear, a determined look on his face, 7-year-old Luis Canas giggled Friday as he set out on the hunt.

His first find, a pink and yellow plastic Easter egg tucked in the bushes at the Rea Community Center, delighted the first-grader so much he let out a yelp and nearly trampled some fellow hunters as he searched for more.

Luis found three Easter eggs in all. Like the pink and yellow one, the other plastic eggs contained a few pennies or nickels or a miniature candy bar.

“Thank you, bunny,” he yelled out as the Easter Bunny hopped by.

Luis was one of dozens of children who came to the Rea Community Center to take part in the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen Easter celebration. Besides the egg hunt and the visit by the Easter Bunny, there was plenty to eat.

More than 500 people were expected to trail into the community center to enjoy the feast on Good Friday. And as usual, Merle Hatleberg and her army of volunteers were ready.

“If they come here, they know they are going to get fed,” said Hatleberg, who has run the kitchen since 1986. “No one ever gets turned away.”

Fifty pounds of fish, 95 pounds of chicken and 125 pounds of ham were prepared for the day’s meal. Also on the menu were several types of salads, rolls, breads and cake or pie for dessert. All the children received an Easter basket.

The bulk of the food was donated by local restaurants and supermarkets. However, some was purchased by Hatleberg using funds raised each year to run the kitchen.

The Easter meal is a tradition at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, which feeds 200 to 250 men, women and children five days a week.

All is overseen by Hatleberg, the soft-spoken mother of eight who made her first pot of soup six years ago and hasn’t stopped since. Just this week she was honored by Disneyland for her contributions to the community, winning $7,000 for the kitchen.

“We are grateful for every dime that comes in,” Hatleberg said, adding that private donations are way down because of the recession.

Friday, as the food line swelled with people outside the center, controlled chaos took over inside. Hatleberg moved around the tables, directing sometimes panicked volunteers.

“I need help quick,” yelled out Jack Moriarty, one of the kitchen’s mainstays. “Where are all the relish trays?”

Some of the 50 volunteers had been working since early morning, decorating the room with bright yellow tablecloths, stuffing Easter baskets, making gravy or cutting vegetables. When the people were allowed to wander in and grab a tray, things were in order.

Bonnie and Mike Babcock waited about 30 minutes to eat. They have been coming to the soup kitchen with their six children for about a month. They don’t always have enough money for food since they started buying $250 in monthly medical insurance. The paychecks Mike earns as a machinist don’t always stretch far enough.

“We come when times get real tough, which they manage to do when you have six kids,” Bonnie said.

As she talked, her sons, Steven, 4, Jonathan, 9, and Gregory, 11, munched on ham and salads. The Easter Bunny took their picture and gave it to the smiling kids.

“They are great,” Bonnie Babcock said about Hatleberg and her crew, as Babcock tried to awaken her 6-month-old daughter, Shelby, so she wouldn’t miss all the excitement.