DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. — Each month Siouxland News will feature a local medical professional giving back to their community for “CNOS’s Your Team, Our Community.”
Dr. David Rettedal spends his days in the operating room as a foot and ankle surgeon for CNOS, but outside of the operating room, you can find him at the Siouxland Soup Kitchen.
“I think it’s an amazing organization that’s very important for the community.”
Dr. Rettedal serves more than just meals, he’s on the board, too.
“Food Insecurity is a huge issue in the world and even here at home and in Siouxland, a lot of people just don’t have the capability to find food every day,” Dr. Rettedal said. “And some of us take that for granted. But, you know, we are able to feed people every day here, seven days a week and I think it’s an amazing organization.”
The Siouxland Soup Kitchen is open every evening, serving upwards of 150 people a night.
“It’s not just strictly homeless. We have a lot of lower income. We have widows, we have people that are lonely,” said Lyn Kluender with the Soup Kitchen, “it’s a mixture of all different types of people.”
They rely on volunteers to make it happen. “We have to have volunteers here to help us,” Kluender said. “We’re a not-for-profit organization and small, so we rely on the community for their donations of time and food and money to help us complete our mission of feeding people.”
She loves seeing people like Dr. Rettedal helping in that mission. “Maybe some lower-income people would not feel comfortable around doctors, but he just he makes everyone feel comfortable and welcome. And we love that.”
That mission, spreading throughout the community in more ways than one.
“We’ve gotten my clinical team at CNOS, to come to the soup kitchen and volunteer and serve the community and that’s really nice,” said Dr. Rettedal. “Being able to serve the citizens not only in our clinic, but also out in the community as well.”
CNOS: Your Team, Our Community will air the last Tuesday of every month at 5pm on Siouxland News