HOLY APOSTLES SOUP KITCHEN SERVES UP LUNCH WITH EFFICIENCY AND LOVE

By Donna Lamb

n October 22, 1982, the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen began serving up good home-style meals Monday through Friday every week of the year. After its first few months, 100 people were coming daily to the soup kitchen. By 1985, they were serving 600 meals a day. In the last several years, they've been serving anywhere from 1,000 to 1,300 meals daily. And in all that time, they've never missed a day - not even after they had a fire!

Holy Apostles has come to be seen as the model in the field. This reputation is well deserved. The best way I can describe their soup kitchen is, efficiency as love. There's so much heart in its well-honed operation that it has a wonderful effect on everyone involved - be you a guest for lunch or a volunteer serving the lunch. I went one day to assist, and, like so many others, found it such a rewarding experience that I've been returning regularly to volunteer ever since.

John Ruiz is the man who makes it all happen. For the last ten years he's served as the Director of Operations for Holy Apostles Church and Soup Kitchen. He works very closely with the chef, Chris O'Neill, to figure out the menu cycle and the necessary ingredients, and from there he does the ordering. Some food comes from the private sector, but they also get funding from the city, state and federal government as well as food donations from organizations like City Harvest and Second Harvest.

"We pride ourselves on putting together a home-cooked meal," said Ruiz. "Though we still use some canned products, basically Chris O'Neill and the sous chef, Pedro Brito, and the prep cook, Quentin Becco, prepare everything from scratch. The freshness of the product makes the meal."

He also explained that more people come to eat at the end of the month after their checks run out. "Then the program becomes essential because it's their source of nourishment for the day. Sometimes it is the only nourishment they get."

Ruiz is very glad Holy Apostles is held in such high esteem but notes, "The important thing to me is that we do the right thing for the people who come here. My main perspective is to make certain they get all the proper nourishment because their immune systems are very compromised. A lot of these folks are out in the inclement weather most of the time. They need to have certain items as part of their diet."

He told of having worked as Food and Beverage Director at New York University, and how drastic a change it was for him when he first came to Holy Apostles. "But after I'd been here a while," he said, "I started really developing a love for what I do, where I'm doing it and why. I feel that the Lord put me here because he wanted somebody to run this place, and run it properly."

And he stated that even after he retires, he'll probably come back and volunteer. "It's not just a job to me," Ruiz said. "This is a love. It's about personal satisfaction, being part of a mission, and being able to help people. I've been a very fortunate man all my life - lots of good jobs, good health, so why not pay some of that back?"

The feeling John Ruiz has for his work is representative of others on the staff. Take Chef Chris O'Neill. Before coming to Holy Apostles about four years ago, he had a good career going. He had experience in high volume as well as fine dining and catering; yet, he wanted to move towards something more meaningful. Now, with this job, "At the end of the day you really feel like you accomplished something, that you made a difference in people's lives," he commented. "I'm very friendly with a lot of the guests who come in here. They tell me every day how much they appreciate it."

And there is Clyde Kuemmerle, Holy Apostles' excellent Programs Coordinator who is responsible for the activities of all the volunteers. While this is his job, he feels it really is his ministry to get to know and interact with both the guests and the volunteers. "There's a spirit that is absolutely necessary for this to work properly," he observed. "A soup kitchen could work under many different circumstances, but for this one to do what it's really called to do, it needs a particular spirit."

The thing most rewarding to him personally is the human contact. "There's the reality of putting food into people's bellies that is important," Kuemmerle said, "but it's the contact with the guests and volunteers that feeds me."

Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen wouldn't be what it is without its volunteers, a nicer collection of people you could hardly hope to meet. They are quite diverse in age, ranging from high school students to retirees, and come from different parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. This isn't even to mention the people from all over the United States who come to volunteer, such as the couple from Detroit, Michigan, who celebrated their 40^th wedding anniversary here.

There are people who have known first hand what it is to worry about their next meal, as well as those who are very aware of their own life-long good fortune. What we all share is a deep care for this food program and the feeling that in volunteering, what we get back is much bigger than what we give. And we really have a good time.

After serving lunch, those who wish to can stay and eat. As a person who often does so, I can personally attest not only to the wholesomeness, but to the tastiness of the food.

Our lunch guests are also diverse. For most, it was hard walking through the door of a soup kitchen the first time. As one man stated, "It was very difficult for me to come here at the beginning because of embarrassment about my financial failure. Sometimes I hardly ate for two days, just a roll or a piece of bread and that was it." He finally made it in one day when he was at an agency looking for work. Some of the other men were coming, and he decided to follow.

Another man said, " This is the first time in my life that I've been financially debilitated. I had a good job at one time, but then the World Trade Center fell, and it left me in a bad spot. I have a lot of gratitude for the food; without it, it would be so much more difficult. I'm very grateful to everyone, all the volunteers that devote their time to this."

Another guest told me, "I've been to different places to eat and this is by far the best. What makes it best? The attitude of the staff. They always make you feel like you're welcome. There's a place I used to go to and when I'd ask if I could have seconds they'd look at me like 'What? You're lucky to have firsts!' The attitude makes a big difference. With me, I've been around the block, and if someone tries to act like they're above you, I can tell. This place doesn't make you feel that way. I feel a lot more comfortable coming here."

Another thing several guests commented on gratefully are the additional services Holy Apostles makes available on its premises. Depending on the day, there are volunteers from the Urban Justice Center to help them with legal matters, and social workers who make referrals for clothing, food pantries, or tell them where to apply for Section 8 housing. Volunteers also help get IDs and fill out forms so a person can receive public assistance a little quicker, as well as provide aid in entering detox programs for alcohol or drugs. A medical van comes each week, and every Thursday members of the Chiropractic Society volunteer their services. Whatever a guest's particular needs are, there's always at least one day of the week when someone will be there to assist them.

Holy Apostles Episcopal Church is located at 28^th Street and 9^th Avenue in Manhattan. To volunteer, just show up between 9:30 and 10:00 AM any weekday morning. The doors open to the guests at 10:30.

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