SOUTH AUSTIN Rotary club member Mickie Powers happily smiling after purchasing a month’s supply of disposable plates to serve meals at the soup kitchen that the club, as well as individual club members,  have generously supported.  
She cuts them in half and uses the top and the bottom so that she can serve two meals per styrofoam takeout box. In the past, the people coming to the soup kitchen at the transitional housing location, would bring their own plates. However, due to the pandemic, the kitchen cannot touch the plates coming from the individuals and instead must spend money they could have used on food to purchase the disposable take-out plates.  This has put a serious crimp in the food budget even though she just has to pay a service fee to the Central Texas Food Bank from which most of the food comes. It also puts a crimp in the budget for purchasing other non-food supplies from retail sources.  She thanks all of the folks who have come forward to support the feeding of so many people in this crazy pandemic time.