A small soup kitchen tucked away in the basement of Generations Church on Second Avenue in Mount Vernon needs help from the community to keep its doors open.

Community Service Associates, Inc. provides around 800 lunches and dinners each week to those in need.

"We provide the basic needs for people to survive and what we do is that we save lives," said former Mount Vernon City Councilwoman and Community Service Associates, Inc. executive director Roberta Apuzzo.

This year, it's receiving about $66,000 in reimbursements from the county, which is far from the $200,000 operating budget it needs to ensure people don't go hungry in the community.

People like Perry have been coming by four times a week for more than two years.

"The people who are gratefully helping, you know, that's a beautiful thing," said Perry.

Community Service Associates, Inc. has seen a sharp increase in the number of people coming to rely on its services, like most nonprofits around the Hudson Valley.

"We know their names, we know when they're coming, we know what they like, which makes our guests feel very good, so they have some dignity," said Apuzzo.

Tuesday through Friday, volunteers provide a hot meal for the night and a bagged lunch for the next day.

"It's almost a teary-eyed type of situation," said Perry.

On Friday, the nonprofit is holding a 'Feeding Our Neighbors' fundraiser from 6-9 p.m. at Alternative Medicine Brewing Company on Elm Avenue.

Tickets are $100 and go to make sure there are two meals a day available for hundreds of people a day.

"Are we 'sexy?' No. Do we give out what people really, really need? Yes, we do. With love," said Apuzzo.

Apuzzo's son, Jared, also works with the nonprofit. He said the ultimate goal would be to raise enough to not only cover the costs of drop-in meal services but also extend it to include deliveries to people who are homebound.