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Soup Kitchen
12 Mar 2010 (12:00 pm - 2:00 pm)  In 1999, a small group of Bethel church members decided that in order to minister in the community, they needed to meet people at their basic level – feed them when they are hungry. In the original church building, once a month, church volunteers gathered in the early hours of the morning to start preparing the meal. By the time they were ready to serve, the line was down the block and around the corner. When the original building was tore down to make way for the new Bethel complex, meals continued at the community center. The volunteers were still committed to ensuring that those who are hungry were fed. Approximately 200 meals were delivered to the Senior high rise in Millville, where volunteers not only provided a hot meal but also ministered to those in need. It was during one of those trips to the senior high rise that the initial partnership between Rural Opportunities began. After delivering a meal to the high rise, Rev. Wilkins received a call from the local coordinator of Rural Opportunities who thanked him for the kindness shown to her mother. During the following months, Bethel received monthly deliveries of commodities that were used to prepare hot, home-cooked meals. This partnership continued until the demand exceeded the supply and USDA commodities are now received through the Community Food Bank of South Jersey. In 2003, with the ever growing need in the community, the decision was made go to twice a week with an average of 60 people per day being served. In addition to the weekly soup kitchen, volunteers tirelessly prepared holiday meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas where over 300 people were blessed with a complete home-cooked meal. In March 2007, the program was expanded to three days a week. The projected numbers were that there would be a slight increase to the monthly numbers but to the amazement of the staff and volunteers, the numbers jumped to over 1,200 people per month – almost double. Exactly one year later, a fourth day was added. The hours of operation were changed from 12:30PM – 2PM to 12Noon – 2PM. It was during this time that Bethel teamed up with several other agencies and churches to increase the amount of resources that are available in an effort to serve more people. Over the last year, over 26,000 meals have been served to low income residents, Senior Citizens and the homeless. Some of those same volunteers continue to ensure that the soup kitchen feeds those who are hungry. As the longest running continuous soup kitchen in the County, Bethel has only one requirement – “you must be hungry”. Individuals are asked to sign in when they walk in the door but no identification is required. Guests are allowed to eat as much as they want while they are seated in the building but no prepared meals can be taken out of the building. |