Sharing Place
Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?” … And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Matthew 25: 37, 40
The Sharing Place at St. Paul Lutheran Church offers bags of groceries or ready-made meals to needy people on the last two Saturdays of every month, 8 am to noon. (See 2009 schedule below.) We serve nutritious food to over 500 families and individuals per month. This number has grown at a rate of about 15% per year for the past several years.
Clients
Any indigent person who lives in the state of New Jersey, is welcome to receive food at the Sharing Place. We ask for documents proving identity, address if any, identity of persons in the household, and income. (A welfare card fulfills all these requirements.) No referral is necessary.
The Sharing Place is held in the parish hall behind the church building. We have a large indoor waiting area and a system of numbers so that clients are seen in the order in which they arrived. The line begins early. Clients must arrive before noon to be served.
Volunteers
We need 12 to 14 volunteers each Saturday of operation to fully staff the Sharing Place. Many volunteers are members and friends of St. Paul Church, but many come from the neighborhood and from community groups. Some volunteers carry boxes of food, but there are lighter jobs too, including packing bags or making baloney-and-cheese sandwiches. We also need volunteers to unload the food truck on the third Wednesday and fourth Thursday of each month, approximately 9:30 am. If you would like to help our indigent neighbors by serving at the Sharing Place, please contact Santos Murillo, director.
News
August 2008: A new number system like the ones used in delis allows clients to see at a glance how long till their number is called and keeps intake volunteers from having to bellow out numbers. Linda Kossman, a member of the Sharing Place board, contacted Microform, Inc, of Oklahoma, to ask them to donate the number system, and Microform generously sent the number counter free of charge. Nathan Ritter installed the system.
July 2008: The Sharing Place has new shelves! The old ones just couldn’t hold up any longer under the weight of the food necessary to feed over 500 families a month. The shelves were paid for in part by a generous donation from the Provident Bank. Thanks to Nathan Ritter for researching and purchasing the shelving, and to the band of 14 volunteers who spent a hot Sunday afternoon installing them.
June 2008: Paul Starick, president of the Sharing Place board and chief food buyer, received the Servant of Christ Award at the annual assembly of the New Jersey Synod of the ELCA. The Servant of Christ Award recognizes the ministry of lay persons in the synod. Once a month, faithfully for years now, Paul has ordered food from the Community Food Bank, rented a truck, loaded it with up to 7 tons of food, and unloaded it again at the church.
May 2008: Two new industrial-strength freezers allow the Sharing Place to store frozen food! New Jersey’s State Food Purchasing Program and the USDA program give us such valuable commodities as frozen chickens and other meats, but until now we could not store nearly enough to serve all our clients. Thanks to Hudson County for giving us the funds to purchase these freezers.
May 2008: Sharing Place clients have donated over $400 to fight world hunger! One of the most endearing blessings we have seen is that people who come to the Sharing Place for food to get them through the end of the month donate funds to help the impoverished served by the ELCA World Hunger Fund. They freely and willingly donate from the little they have to help those who have less.
June 2007: The Sharing Place celebrates its 25th anniversary with a festive worship service followed by a potluck meal and recognition of the many volunteers who make this ministry possible. The Rev. Roy Riley, bishop of the NJ Synod, presided at worship and shared in the celebration.
2009 schedule
The Sharing Place is open from 8 am to noon to serve our hungry neighbors on the following Saturdays in 2009:
July 18, 25
August 22, 29
September 19, 26
October 24, 31
November 21, 28
December 19, 26
Supporters
On only $15,000 per year, the Sharing Place feeds some 6,000 families and individuals annually. The bulk of the money for food comes from a Community Service Block Grant administered by Let’s Celebrate, a social service agency in Jersey City. The NJ State Food Purchase Program and USDA commodities help stretch our food dollars. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey provides one-stop shopping for all our food needs.
Donations from church members and other individuals support non-food costs such as truck rental. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Glen Rock, NJ, has supported the Sharing Place for many years not only through donations but also by sending volunteers. First Congregational Church of Park Ridge, NJ, has for several years provided Christmas gifts to needy families, as have other groups including the Mustard Seed School of Hoboken. The Provident Bank donated our new shelves. The children of the Learning Community Charter School gave the proceeds of the 2008 penny drive to the Sharing Place–over $2,700!
If you would like to donate toward the work of the Sharing Place, please contact Santos Murillo, director.