Cranford-Elmora Soup Kitchen Celebrating 25 Years of Service With Worship Service At First Presbyterian Church of Cranford

On Sunday, March 30, the First

Presbyterian Church of Cranford, 11 Springfield Ave, Cranford

will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Cranford-Elmora Soup Kitchen

at the church’s 10AM worship service. Photographs and other items reflecting

the history of this mission will be on display in the Thompson Youth Center of

the church following the service. All are welcome.

The Cranford-Elmora Soup Kitchen at the First Baptist Church in

Elizabeth has seen many different struggles, both amongst its patrons and

experiencing issues itself that almost caused the program to close down. People

from all walks of life come in for the dining which, ironically, has never

consisted of soup nor sandwiches. Instead, the working poor of the Elizabeth

area dine on meals meant to create a healthy diet such as chicken, salad, and

sweets provided by Pinho’s

Bakery.

“It started 25 years ago, very simply and has grown and expanded

into a program with 8 teams, 100 volunteers, active volunteers,” soup kitchen

coordinator Jean Wands explains. On March 12, 1989, a group of people had

aspirations to simply make sandwiches and serve the hungry. Now, the project

has grown

“When we first started, it was all fliers and signs,” explains

Joanne Van Sant, volunteer at the soup kitchen since 1989 and a pastor serving

in Monmouth County. “When we started, we anticipated that we would be serving

homeless people and we do, but we also serve the financially stressed.”

The group quickly gained momentum with many volunteers coming back,

despite life changes. Van Sant cites how she moved from Elizabeth back in May

1989, only two months after the program started, and yet has consistently

returned, even with her current commute from Brick, NJ.

“Even though our lives have changed, I still save the seventh Sunday

to come back and work at the soup kitchen,” Van Sant explains.

However, the soup kitchen also faced some rather frightening times. When

the Elmora Presbyterian Church closed in 2004, the soup kitchen almost closed

with it. The organization no longer had the financial nor legal backing

necessary to support the mission. Through small endowments and private

donations, the soup kitchen continued to thrive. “Whenever we’ve had a problem,

we’d get an answer, so I’ve stopped worrying,” explains Wands.

In June 2005, the First Presbyterian Church of Cranford adopted the

program. Stipends used for the program would go to the food services

distribution in Elizabeth, should it dissolve for any reason.

When Hurricane

Sandy hit in 2012, Wands almost closed down the next

soup kitchen date on Nov 4. “Our volunteers are mostly from the suburbs,” she

explains, “so it was problematic with road blockages, with getting gasoline,

with no power in the church, the whole thing across the board.”

When word got out about the obstacles the soup kitchen was facing,

Fanwood Presbyterian Church member Barry Daniskas stepped forth. He quickly

assembled a team to immediately gather bags of food that were donated to hand

out to the soup kitchen guests outside of the church.

“He’s a fabulous man to work with,” Wands states.

The following week, though the soup kitchen was once again slated to

close, even more volunteers gathered to hand out the bagged lunches, sandwiches,

and other snacks.

“This program has been growing and

flourishing because of the commitment of each and every one (of the

volunteers),” said Wands. “The volunteers are the ones that make it happen.

Without all the volunteers… we would not have a program.”

Volunteers come from all over, including

Connecticut Farms Presbyterian, St. Theresa’s of Kenilworth, The First Baptist

Church of Cranford-Elizabeth, the Fanwood Presbyterian, the Korean

Presbyterian, St. Anne’s of Garwood, the Second Presbyterian Church of

Elizabeth and the First Presbyterian Church of Cranford. The Fanwood

Presbyterian Church also provides bagged lunches for guests.

“We have grown because people have wanted it to… it just happened,

it was almost like it was meant to be,” states Wands. “It just seems to have

grown beyond time and space.”

“This program is not about [the volunteers].  This is about a program that… has survived

this long because it is a voluntary, positive community program that has helped

many people.”

The soup kitchen

accepts donations of socks, full size bars of soap, tooth paste, tooth brushes,

deodorant, wash cloths, face towels, other basic essentials and funding. The

First Presbyterian Church of Cranford acts as their drop point. Wands comments

that she always sends thank-you cards.

To donate

to the Cranford-Elmora Soup Kitchen, contact the First Presbyterian Church of

Cranford at 908-276-8440.

ABOUT THE CRANFORD-ELMORA SOUP

KITCHEN:

The Cranford-Elmora Soup Kitchen, located at 402 Union Ave,

Elizabeth, began March 12, 1989 as a simple idea – Why can’t a group of people

put a few sandwiches together and invite some of the hungry in for lunch? Now,

after 25 years, the strictly-volunteer soup kitchen has served over 112,000 hot

meals to the hungry and financially stressed in the Elizabeth area.

Their basic objective is to provide nutritious meals that one would

find at home in a friendly atmosphere, increasing the self-esteem of their

guests while educating volunteers, mostly children, about teamwork and how to

care for their fellow man.

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