Free Meal Center to Target Hungry Kids, Broke Seniors

COURT HOUSE — Picture five children living in a home where the only things in the refrigerator/freezer were boxes of pink, green and blue frozen sugar pops.
“The kids were living on sugar water,” said Douglas Jewell, a founder of the Free Meal Center.
Jewell and his wife Joyce are Realtors and see inside a number of local homes. They also found that senior citizens, especially after losing a spouse, were running out of money by the 27th of the month.
“They were living on saltine crackers and margarine,” said Douglas Jewell. “That was enough to say that we have the ability to do something about this.”
Douglas and Joyce have owned restaurants and he has worked as a chef.
“We have the skills to pull this off if the community gets behind it,” said Douglas Jewell.
The Free Meal Center at 1206 Route 9 South is in a 4,200 square-foot building that formerly was a restaurant and daycare center.
The center hoped to be operating by now but was slowed by the permitting process for renovations. If all goes well, the center hopes to open in March or April 2012, said Douglas Jewell.
He said the organization wanted a permanent location and the building was vacant.
“We didn’t know all the equipment had been sold off; we thought the equipment was in place, and we could open quickly,” he said.
Volunteers have gutted the building down to the studs and rafters. An electrician discovered not one wire in the building met building code standards, said Douglas Jewell.About 3,000 feet of new wire has been installed.
The building has been robbed 11 times.
“We’ve lost well over 5,000 pounds of metal, it’s the scrappers coming in and taking stuff,” said Douglas Jewell.
A 24-foot, 800-pound handicap ramp was stolen.
“We’ve lost hot water heaters, copper pipe, anything that’s metal,” said Douglas Jewell.
Over 1,000 persons have supported the Free Meal Center in donations or volunteer labor.
Douglas Jewell said unemployment in this area rises to 17 percent between the end of October and the first of April. He said he believes the actual unemployment rate is closer to 30 to 35 percent.
According to U.S. Census statistics, there are 46,000 families in Cape May County with 4,000 living below the poverty level of $22,050 for a family of four.
Douglas Jewell said 9,600 households live solely on their Social Security check here.
Lunch will be served Monday through Saturday at the Free Meal Center. Breakfast will be served Saturday, because Jewell discovered a number of children who eat a free lunch at school on Friday, do not have another good meal until Monday morning, when they receive a free breakfast at school.
“We thought why not have breakfast, have a two-and-a-half hour activity period in between, and then have lunch, so we can get the kids two meals closer to Monday morning when they get good food,” said Douglas Jewell.
Teachers, college students, and high school seniors have volunteered to help with the activity period.
Meals at the center will include soup, salad, an entrée, a starch, vegetable and fruit.
“No desserts, no cooking with sugar or salt,” said Douglas Jewell. “We are trying to emphasize healthy, nutritious, delicious food.”
Food will be served buffet style. Anybody will be fed, he said, without filling out forms or answering any qualifying questions.
Douglas Jewell said he expects the center would serve lunch daily to 300 persons as soon as it opens.
The greatest need at this time is money. The center has most of the kitchen equipment it needs thanks to donations. Egg Harbor Township High School built a new cafeteria and donated its “old” equipment which had been purchased in 2004, said Douglas Jewell.
Home Depot has donated about $20,000 in materials. Quality Electric, carpenter Matthew Tribulski and DMB Plumbing have been donating many hours of labor, he said.
The center needs $18,000 for two heating/air conditioning system, which is crucial so renovations can continue through the winter.
“After a year and half of backing up and tearing stuff out, we’re now turning it around, going the other way,” he said.
Plans call for health-related classes and blood pressure screenings at the Free Meal Center.
A licensed contractor oversees each part of the renovation but volunteer labor would be appreciated, said Douglas Jewell.
“People have really shown that they have a big heart, lot of people look us up, give us a call, ‘I have this, can you use it?’” said Douglas Jewell.
Reconstructing the kitchen has been a major project, which required an addition to the building. The building’s walk-in refrigerator was intact and a local florist donated a compressor and refrigeration unit.
He said dignity for those who will eat the center is a big issue.
“We don’t want people to walk through the door with their heads down like they are ashamed,” said Douglas Jewell.” Our volunteers will treat them with dignity.”
In the Great Depression such places were called bread lines and after World War II, soup kitchens. The preferred term is meal center, he said.
Cooks will be paid by government grants and learn their craft from experienced volunteer chefs. After 20 weeks of work, the cooks should be able to find a job in the food service industry, said Douglas Jewell.
Donations are tax deductible and may be sent to Free Meal Center, P.O. Box 863, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. The organization’s website is www.freemealcenter.com