Recently, the website of the Community Foodbank of New Jersey published the two stories below about regular guests of Toni’s Kitchen who talk about what Toni’s means to them.
80-year-old Diana and her 79-year-old husband Jerry were having lunch at Toni’s Kitchen in Montclair, a CFBNJ partner charity that puts a high priority on the well-being of seniors.
Diana, with her quiet, gentle manner and upbeat attitude, spoke for them both. “As seniors, we don’t have too many friends and relatives left,” she shared. “So this is a wonderful place to be. We feel welcomed by everyone. It’s a warming place, a secure environment. The world out there is so cruel.”
Like many older people, they feel the strain of rising costs and fixed incomes. Diana adds, “Every year the government says the cost of living is…whatever. But it’s just not true. They don’t go shopping like we do. It’s hard out there.”
While it’s hard, Toni’s Kitchen and our other partner charities make it a little easier, thanks to your support. Diana wants people to know, “It’s a beautiful program they have here. Sometimes they’ll have clothing on the table that we can take home, a scarf or something. We’re thankful for little things like that.”
Anne Mernin, Director of Outreach at Toni’s Kitchen, says senior citizens make up one of the fastest-growing groups they serve. She tells us, “Our mission has shifted from just feeding people to looking at food as a way of lifting community health. Food is a very powerful connector, a way of building community. We look to provide relief without shame, and help people to a higher level of independent living.”
Food, help and hope – together changing lives.
SUSAN’S STORY
Susan is bright, energetic, educated… and struggling to feed herself in a northern New Jersey suburb. We met her at a soup kitchen where, before lunch was served that day, Susan volunteered to offer thanks for the meal she and about 70 other hungry people were about to eat.
She’s suffered a series of setbacks, from a job layoff to arthritis to a serious car accident last year that left her disabled and in chronic pain from a lower spine injury. Now, at age 56, she wants and needs an income, but is unable to sit or stand for a long time, and tells us ‘there simply is not enough work out there. Everything is getting cut.’ Susan knows people might walk right by her on the street and have no idea she and others in similar situations can barely make ends meet. Susan’s voice begins to break as she talks about the soup kitchen where, after a meal, people are able to leave with a little extra food – maybe a loaf of bread or some fruit. She says ‘if it wasn’t for this food pantry, I don’t know what on earth I would do. I could sit here and cry because food is so expensive. It makes all the difference.’ She adds that along with good, healthy food, she finds companionship from her fellow soup kitchen guests, and the ‘tireless’ staff and volunteers. Simply put, Susan says ‘we definitely need places like this.’ And what went through her mind as she gave thanks on behalf of a room full of people just like her – hungry and glad to have a place to go? Susan tells us ‘I was just hoping that somehow the words reached them and touched them.’