From The DirectorFrom The DirectorFrom The DirectorFrom The Director Carmei Ha’ir,

Jerusalem, Israel

Two months ago, I embarked on a tour of Israel. I saw a huge part of the country, which is as big as the state of New Jersey. Surprisingly, a highlight of my trip was a visit to Carmei Ha’ir, a “restaurant” (soup

kitchen) in Jerusalem. The Israeli’s call the soup kitchen a restaurant in an effort to preserve the self-esteem and dignity of their guests. My group of friends and I had the opportunity to help prepare a meal and to serve to lunch to some very grateful Israelis.

The similarities between Carmei Ha’ir and DDB are numerous. Both serve men, women, and children without any cost to the recipients. Both serve over 100 people every day of the week. Both rely upon volunteers to serve the meals but have paid staff to cook. Both rely upon the generosity of the community for funding and donations. Both have a clothing bank and refer individuals to human services agencies. Last, both base their operation on the words, “…all who are hungry, let them come and eat.”

There are also ways in which the soup kitchens differ. First, Carmei Ha’ir is located next to a market place. Merchants from the market arrive at the restaurant in the early morning with donations of food to be cooked for that day’s meal. Downtown Daily Bread orders food in advance which is either purchased or financed by grants. The kitchen at Carmei Ha’ir is strictly kosher; DDB is strictly “unkosher!” Carmei Ha’ir is set up like a restaurant with volunteers serving individuals using real plates, glasses, and silverware. DDB uses metal trays, plastic utensils, and paper cups; clients are served cafeteria style. At Carmei Ha’ir, a box sits inside the door for those who wish to drop a couple shekels on their way out. Most have no extra money and pay nothing. There is no such box at DDB.

At DDB, English is the spoken language except for a smattering of Spanish from time to time. At Carmei Ha’ir, one hears Hebrew, Hungarian, Polish, German, Yiddish, and Arabic. Much of the clientele is made up of immigrants from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Hungry, Poland, and other eastern European countries. Some patrons are holocaust survivors. The newer immigrants come from Ethiopia and France. In Israel, there are many people living below the poverty line, but the country takes serious care of the homeless. In an Israeli soup kitchen, it is not uncommon to see young men and women in uniform. These are soldiers on leave who are far from home. They are warmly welcomed at the kitchens. DDB and Carmei Hair both realize that “poverty is more than a lack of finances.”

We can call our facility a “soup kitchen” and the Israelis can call theirs a “restaurant.” We both feed the hungry, nurture the body and the spirit, and believe in the dignity of each individual…what’s in a name?

Spring 2010

Issue 16

DDB Mission:

Feed the hungry & provide services for

the homeless of Harrisburg.

Inside This Issue:

• Foreign Visit

• Spring Concert

• Award Nominations

• FRAC Report

• Life Skills

• Elk Chili

• Census

• Client Report

Downtown

Daily Bread

310 N. Third Street

Harrisburg PA

17101

www.downtowndailybread.org

Elaine Strokoff

Executive Director

717-238-4717

Brenda Ervin

Kitchen Manager

717-238-4718 ext. 125

Blondie Doleman

Weekend Cook

717-238-4718 ext. 125

Dave An

Client Counselor

717-238-4718 ext. 128

Linda McGuire

DDB News Editor

We welcome your

suggestions, comments,

and feedback.

Quote:

Life Skills Classes Offered

The Doctors Kienle chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) was initiated at Penn State College of Medicine in 2003. Each year, a select number of graduating medical students are nominated by fellow students for induction into the Society. Nominations are based on a combination of clinical skills and compassion in medicine. Each year, members of the GHHS participate in a community service project. This year, we expressed interest in bringing a life skills session to the clients of Downtown Daily Bread. We have organized an hour long presentation designed to help prepare individuals for job interviews. Our emphasis is placed on basic communication skills necessary to impress employers and secure jobs. We also wish to discuss some basic aspects of job interviewing, such as the resume and what consists of appropriate attire. Our hope is to aid those in search of occupation, providing them with basic skills that will prove helpful when applying for a job. We look forward to our upcoming sessions and hope this adventure proves to be a smashing success!

Stay Connected….Log onto www.downtowndailybread.org

often to discover the latest news & info at DDB. We want to keep you informed about how your support of DDB is making a difference and impacting our operations.

Hellos & Goodbyes DDB would like to welcome a new church, Baton Rouge Baptist. Volunteers from Baton Rouge Baptist will be working with DDB—we look forward to working together. And as much as we are delighted to have a new church join the DDB family, we are saddened to say good-bye to volunteers from Harrisburg Methodist. We appreciate your dedication and commitment to DDB over the years. Thank you again to all our churches, synagoes, and volunteers who make it happen at DDB!

Census Taking Neither Sleet, Nor Rain, Nor Hail, Nor Snow… Apparently this sentiment holds true for DDB! Downtown Daily Bread, the soup kitchen at Pine Street Presbyterian Church, was one of the few locations which opened and operated during the February snow storm. The men, women, and children who ate lunch there on Wednesday and

Thursday, February 10 & 11th were most grateful. They must have known instinctively that the kitchen would be open because the dining room was filled each day. DDB clients wrote their thoughts in the soup kitchen’s guest book. These are some of their comments:

“I was real glad you were open.” “I was grateful to have a meal in a bad time!”

“It was my meal of the day.” “It was a blessing!”

“I was grateful to have a meal in a bad time!” “We all were glad.”

“Thanks for being open.” “I was glad we had a place to feed the homeless for it was cold and nasty and the

Daily Bread is a beautiful place. Thanks.” “Everything was great!”

Downtown Daily Bread was able to function as usual thanks to the dedication of our devoted cooks. Our part-time cook walked to work on Wednesday and our full-time cook made it to work on Thursday. Thanks are also due to the volunteers who helped serve and clean up on those snowy days. Thanks to these committed individuals, people had a warm, inviting place for lunch, as they do every day.

We at Downtown Daily Bread are very proud of our record of never closing. Over the 16 years that I have been involved with the kitchen, DDB as only been closed for one day. That was due to a blizzard in 1986. Open for 26 years, DDB continues to serve the hungry and homeless of Harrisburg. We all should be proud to be associated with “the kitchen that never closes.”

We at Downtown Daily Bread are very glad that we have been able to pull our resources and function in adverse conditions. In the past 16 years, DDB has only had to close one day. For a soup kitchen that is open 365 days a year, I think that is a pretty good record.

Elaine Strokoff

Executive Director

Hunt, Fish, & Feed

The Sportsman Channel, Comcast

and Sportsmen Against Hunger for

the Hunt.Fish.Feed. Harrisburg

initiative recently donated a

delicious batch of elk chili for

DDB! Volunteers cooked the chili

and served over 150 meals to the

men and women of Downtown Daily

Bread. Please visit

www.HuntFishFeed.org to see

photos and video from the event!

Thanks to Kim Hawkins & all the

volunteers for donating and

organizing the lunch!

And The Award Goes To… Central Penn Business Journal’s 11th Annual Nonprofit Innovative Awards were held on February 24, 2010 at the Valencia Ballroom in York. Over 350 attendees gathered to recognize local nonprofit organizations and executives for establishing original, forward-thinking, and effective innovations. DDB was named a Finalist in the Programs Category for the “Ride-to-Work” Initiative. This category acknowledges an event or program that was locally developed and implemented in order to increase the effectiveness of the organization’s mission. Congratulations to Elaine Strokoff, DDB Executive Director. Although she deserves the “Gold” in our eyes, she graciously accepted the Silver and eloquently acknowledged what we all know is true—it is an honor just to be nominated. We are proud of you Elaine and the work that is done at DDB!

MAPS Benefits DDB

The Music at Pine Street series presented their annual concert to benefit Downtown Daily Bread on March 19th. The concert opened with pianist Anne Guenin presenting music of Nicolai Medtner. A younger contemporary of Rachmaninoff and Scriabin, Medtner created some glorious piano music that was a treat to discover.

In addition, the Chamber Singers of Pine Street Church sang two sets of choral pieces by the celebrated John Rutter. Both are settings of famous English poetry, set in Rutter’s unique style with charm and grace. Attendees enjoyed a delightful evening of music and provided a free will offering for DDB. Thank you again to all our musicians, event volunteers and organizers, and to those of you who attended! We appreciate your continued support.

Feeding Harrisburg’s hungry since 1983!

Thanks to ACS (Art Communication Systems), for assisting us with the printing of this newsletter. We are pleased to have a

partnership with ACS! Harrisburg’s Premier Commercial Printing Service offers printing, graphic design, sales and marketing, and web

development. Contact Park Cook, ACS, at 717-232-0144.

Wish List We are in short supply of socks, men’s underwear (sizes 30-42), and razors. Next time you are out shopping, please consider purchasing some of these items. We can assure you that your donation will be put to good use. Of course financial contributions are always needed and appreciated.

Did You Know? DDB has served $$$ meals during the first 3 months of 2010!

Alarming Statistic According to a new report released by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), more than 15.9% households in PA reported in 2009 not having enough money to buy food that they needed during the prior twelve months for themselves or their family. “The data in this report shows that food hardship—running out of money to buy food that families need—is truly a national problem.” said Jim Weill, president of FRAC. These new numbers are especially relevant as Congress looks at jobs legislation and other strategies to mitigate the damage of the recession, and reauthorizes child nutrition legislation this year. The PA Hunger Action Center has joined FRAC in calling for improvements in a range of federal nutrition programs, including SNAP/Food Stamps and child nutrition programs, and for more efforts to boost the economy, create more well-paying jobs and reduce unemployment. The full report is available at www.frac.org.

Client Counselor’s Client Report Several clients were here temporarily due to the season and their line of work. For instance I had one guy who worked for a circus and one who worked for a fair. Obviously in the winter they do not work. They're getting ready to head back on the road to tour across the country to run these fairs and circuses. Their hours are long and the work is hard, but they get paid well and can always rely on going back to work in March. For them this agency provided them with warm meals, hot showers, clothing and other personal care items (deodorant, razors, etc.) Although they were on unemployment it was not enough to pay for a place to stay. They utilized the shelters and other social services to get by. I had spoken to both clients personally to learn about their situation and why they were here. In general they had "business" to take care of in Harrisburg. This can involve visiting family or friends. Frequently people are bound to come back to Harrisburg to take care of legal issues with the court, which is sometimes described as "business". Either way neither of the clients had saved enough to have a place to live during the off season. One of the clients were reassured they would be able to stay with their family only to come here and be put out on the street. We provided them with their sustenance during one of the harsher winters we've seen in years. I had greatly encouraged them to think about this past winter as they were working and traveling. I advised them to save some money and perhaps stay somewhere warmer next year. Although they were very polite, cooperative and sometimes helpful (giving back by cleaning out the showers when showers were done, or keeping an eye on the clothing room while it was open, or organizing the clothing room) I had to give them positive advice in terms of their future and the next winter / off season. I would love to see them again and have positive attitudes around our agency, but I would like even more for those gentlemen have a place to stay during the winter or spend their winter somewhere warm. I guess the point is we run into many people seeking assistance; many include low income, fixed income, and transients Although these men were homeless it was temporarily and situational rather than ongoing and cyclical. They were no stranger to the streets so I assume this has happened to them in the past. Hopefully I will receive some postcards soon with their reassurance of taking care of themselves this winter.

Pine Street Presbyterian Church

310 North Third Street Harrisburg PA 17101

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HARRISBURG PA PERMIT NO. 293