Soup kitchen gets cold cash to serve hot meals
Local business donates $5,000 to soup kitchen for upgrades
BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

KATHY CHANG Volunteers Kay Karlick (l-r) and Fran Kurtz of the Trinity Episcopal Church soup kitchen look at the stove that is one of the items that now can be replaced due the generosity of the Tilcon company, a Keasbey asphalt recycling facility. George W. Thompson, president of Tilcon, presented the volunteers of the soup kitchen with $5,000 on July 25.

WOODBRIDGE - A local business donated $5,000 to the Trinity Episcopal Church soup kitchen to replace some of its old kitchen equipment.

"We would love to replace everything," said Fran Kurtz of Sayreville, who has been volunteering for the soup kitchen for seven years.

Mayor John E. McCormac and George W. Thompson, a "corporate citizen" and president of Tilcon, a Keasbey asphalt recycling facility, presented the soup kitchen and food pantry with the $5,000 on July 25 as part of the township's ongoing effort to support and assist food pantries and soup kitchens in maintaining their community programs.

"The dollars are desperately needed in order to keep the kitchen operating and serving the homeless and hungry every Friday," said McCormac.

With the money, the volunteers plan to replace the cabinets, stove, dishwasher, sinks and countertops.

Madeline Scarano and others started the soup kitchen in 1995 because they believed there was a need for one in the community.

"Keeping our soup kitchens open and serving the hungry, along with maintaining our various food-drive programs, is, without a doubt, one of the most important efforts we as a community can participate in," said McCormac.

Thompson said on behalf of Tilcon that they were pleased and proud to support the soup kitchen.

"Tilcon maintains a commitment and dedication to the communities where we're located and believe that we can best serve the community by helping the people and institutions that are working every day to make life better," he said.

Kay Karlick, of Carteret, who has been volunteering for about a year-and-a-half, said that each Friday they serve 25 to 35 people who come to the soup kitchen.

"Some are in need of a meal and some come in for the socialization," she said. "This money will go toward making this project better."

Volunteers file into the kitchen at 9 a.m. and start prepping the food. At a quarter to noon, the crew starts to serve the hot food, which on any given Friday might include spaghetti and meatballs, vegetable lasagna, Scarano's homemade rice pudding, cream of broccoli soup, green beans, bread, and some dessert. Each week, the menu changes.

The group makes a meal for 30 people, and if there are leftovers, they bag them up and send them home with the people who came.

Most of the food is donated by local businesses, or people come and drop off food.

Township residents are encouraged to drop off food donations at township-sponsored events such as the Mayor's Summer Concert Series, the Barron Arts Center Holiday Concert, Election Day polling locations, and other public events.

Peter Barcellona, chairman of the We Feed Food Bank Committee, said that the recent food drive activities at the Mayor's Summer Concerts have netted more than 8,800 pounds of food in just two concerts. There are six concerts left in the summer series.

Barcellona noted that nonperishable food - canned goods, prepackage and boxed foods, baby food, paper products, etc. - are collected at each concert.

Nonperishable food can also be dropped off any weekday at the township Public Health Center, 2 George Frederick Plaza, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; at town hall, 1 Main St.; the Woodbridge Public Library, 1 George Frederick Plaza; or the Woodbridge Community Center, 600 Main St.

For more information about the township's ongoing food drive effort and the work of the We Feed Committee, call Barcellona at (732) 855-0600, ext. 5034.