Let’s get this straight: Soup isn’t typically served at the Vineland Community Kitchen.
“We have people thinking all we serve is soup,” said Chelsea Consalo, chief development officer at Spirit and Truth Ministries, which operates the recently renamed kitchen at First United Methodist Church, Seventh Street and Landis Avenue in Vineland.
Sure, the comfort food is hot and fresh—everything from beef stroganoff and cheesy tuna casserole to chicken cordon bleu or hot meatball subs.
What has changed is its name.
For decades, everyone has known the ministry at the First United Methodist Church as the Vineland Soup Kitchen. Starting this summer, the name is now the Vineland Community Kitchen. The new name was front and center in a recent outdoor barbecue, attended by visitors, dignitaries and clients.
More than a meal: Guests have filled their bellies for more than 40 years at the beloved local ministry.
But the need, Consalo and others acknowledge, has grown.
In one calendar year alone, this army of staff and volunteers served more than 55,000 meals.
But is it for anyone?
Yes: It’s for homeless people.
Yes: It’s for those struggling to feed their families.
Also yes to those who need to stretch their food bill and save money.
Yes to all of them—no questions asked.
Yes to Gianna Keller, too.
Keller, a 30-year-old Vineland resident and mother of a 6-year-old son, stops by the church at Seventh and Landis on the regular. Not because she’s homeless, but because it saves her money she would otherwise have to pay to feed her son during school.
While she’s there, her son has become a big fan of Operations Manager Jeff Vicari, making it a regular routine to give him a big warm hug. His mom also might find a uniform to take so she doesn’t have to buy one for her son to wear to school.
At the recent barbecue, her son found a plush bunny rabbit to take home, too. Its value has not been lost on Gianna and her family.
“I started telling other people to come here,” she said. “It’s cheaper and they’re never going to turn you away.”
“It saves me a lot of money,” she said. “This organization has taken a lot of stress off of me, as to whether I will have food on my table. I will never be food insecure because of this (group).”
By the numbers: Spirit and Truth’s daily breakfast and lunch by the numbers:
• 33,585 meals served from January through July
• 3,424 items of clothing donated
• 4,088 volunteer hours logged
• 3,476 individual toiletries distributed
People have lined up at Spirit and Truth’s kitchen for more than 40 years. That’s two meals a day, five days a week, and only a few holidays off.
Gianna Keller and Operations Manager Jeff Vicari at the Clothes Closet. RIGHT: Vicari; Chelsea Consalo, chief development officer at Spirit and Truth Ministries; and Raquel Soto, executive director of Spirit and Truth Ministries, take time from duties to pose for this photo at the community barbeque.
Thank God it’s Monday: Vicari spent 32 years in retail and walked away from his job—and a regular paycheck.
“I literally heard the Holy Spirit say I need you elsewhere,” he said.
He left his salary as a manager behind, and volunteered at what is now the Vineland Community Kitchen.
“So I left retail to come here as a volunteer,” he said, starting first as a volunteer, then as a paid part-time cook, then a full-time cook.”
Today he is not only the operations manager, but the coordinator for all of its 62 volunteers and its donations.
Vicari is nothing but grateful for his role in the ministry.
“This is the job of my life,” he said. “This is the job of my lifetime.
“I always say, ‘Thank God It’s Monday,’ because it’s such a privilege to come here and take care of people,” he said.
Vicari attributes the increased need for the Vineland Community Kitchen to the widespread struggle to find affordable housing.
“A lot of people who are homeless can’t get a place because it’s too expensive,” he said.
And Vicari does not worry about all the pressure to keep up with growing demand for food.
“I never worry about food—where it’s going to come from. It’s always taken care of by God,” he said.
Five years after he trusted God and quit his full-time job, Vicari finds himself as one of the key players that keep the doors open.
“Two words: God provides,” Vicari said.
‘It will change your life’: Gary Galloway, former owner of Rental Country in Vineland, is one of the kitchen’s patrons. He shakes hands with Raquel Soto, executive director of Spirit and Truth Ministries, and smiles. “Found this in my pocket,” he says, handing her a check.
He finds it annoying if people who can help others don’t.
Even if you don’t have money, you have hands, he says.
“If you can help people, and don’t…,” his voice trails off. “I can’t say what I want to say. But you know what I mean.”
Galloway’s wife became ill, so he’s been unable to travel. “So, I just give it away locally,” he said.
If he had advice for anyone, Galloway keeps it simple: “Go volunteer somewhere. It will change your life.”
The message organizers had at this monthly barbecue was simple: We don’t just serve soup, and we’re not just for people who are homeless.
‘A sense of that need’: Consalo, the chief development officer with Spirit and Truth Ministries, said her group assists the kitchen with meal support.
They also help with community barbecues on the fourth Thursday of every month from April through October. Residents can grab a bite to eat, everything from corn on the cob, to hot dogs, soda or chicken.
In addition to the meals, nonprofit organizations ring the driveway, offering free hot showers, help to sign up for SNAP benefits, a place to shop for clothes and grab a few toiletries and even seek help from New Horizons Wellness Center, a mental health organization located in Vineland.
Some months, they offer haircuts, support for those with addictions and doctor visits from CompleteCare and its mobile medical center visits.
Consalo, now on staff, served on its Board of Directors for four years. She has been on staff since January, and senses the needs are greater than when she first began with Spirit and Truth.
“Now, I’m really getting a sense of that need,” she said. “We are seeing more kids and more women. In past years, it was mostly adult men.”
Consalo sees the need every day now.
“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what we do. We don’t just serve the homeless. We serve the food insecure.”
Served with love: Vicari has always loved to cook and that was still true through his many roles at the Vineland kitchen.
Guests are served a hot breakfast, either oatmeal, with fruit or grits—plus the occasional French toast, blueberry pancakes or even sausage gravy and biscuits, if they have the supplies.
Vicari, who makes up the menu, said there is always pasta served one of the five days. The rest of the menu depends on what they have on hand, or what comes courtesy of the area food bank. His sheetpan meatloaf is a big favorite.
“Sometimes they like it when we do a meatball sub,” he said.
Bottino’s ShopRite donates food items five days a week.
How to Help
For local residents who want to donate to the kitchen, any kind of protein would be gratefully accepted. Drop off your food donations at the First United Methodist Church, Seventh and Landis, during the kitchen’s hours.
To donate money: Send checks to the Spirit and Truth Ministry or to the Vineland Community Kitchen, P.O. Box 89,Vineland NJ 08362.
To volunteer your time in the Vineland Community Kitchen: Email info@vinelandsoupkitchen.org.
Hours of Operation
Open at 8 a.m. for breakfast and lunch is 10 to 11:30 a.m..
Weekends: The kitchen has a group that gathers on Fridays to make between 100 and 120 bagged lunches to get their clients through the weekend.
