Cochrane's St. Andrews United Church is getting ready to start up their community lunch program again on September 13.

Every Tuesday the parish cooks up hot soup providing lunch and the opportunity to connect as a community.

St. Andrews United Church, Reverend Ray Goodship shares everyone is welcome to attend.

"It's an opportunity for people to get together and build new friendships. People who need meals sometimes people in poverty are isolated; they get a chance to just hang out in an anonymous kind of way. Nobody knows if someone is there because they need companionship, if they're lonely or they need a meal. A lot of friendships have been built over the months that we have ran it."

Goodship says in their first year they had anywhere between 40-60 attendees every week for lunch, and he would like to see that number grow.

"There is a lot of support within the congregation and the wider community, we could probably handle 80 or 90 quite easily we're hoping to hit that number this year."

Community groups, organizations, even businesses are welcome to offer up their kitchen/culinary skills and help prepare a meal as well.

Being involved in the community is of high importance to the parish population.

"We have worked hard at becoming a missional church rather than church that does mission work on the side, so its really become part of our identity. Everything we do we are trying to connect with folks, and build relationships and just be a caring, warm place for people to go."

Goodship adds, he has been queried on the lunch being free.

"I have had more than one person say there is no such thing as free lunch, and we beg to differ at St.Andrews. There is, it's a free lunch no strings attached."