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An Essential Member of the Chelsea Community Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen provides resources Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen means it’s a helping to our families in ways that we cannot. Thank hand to everyone. It provides me a meal, and a you to the generous donors and volunteers seat with strangers who have become neighbors who make the brown bag lunches and and friends. Backpack Pantry Program possible for our students and families in need. - Male, 45-54, employed part-time - Cindy Wang, Principal of P.S. 33 19 19 Since welcoming our first guests in 1982, As the fundamental needs of our fellow New Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen has kept its doors Yorkers change, we too make adjustments open to respond to unpredictable times, be it on which include scaling up meal quantities, adding an individual level or on a much broader scale. to our social services lineup, stewarding new partnerships, and establishing protocols that At the beginning of 2019, we entered what would make our operation even more sustainable. become the longest government shutdown in American history. With it came a period of We remain guided by our steadfast commitment sustained uncertainty, and the country’s food and to radical hospitality, even at times when the world social safety nets facing repeated threats. Many around us is facing its own challenges. Everyone is people turned to emergency food programs like welcome at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. ours for the first time. Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen means it’s a helping 3 19 Dear Friends, As I look back at 2019 through the current lens of COVID-19, and the struggle of social distancing we’ve all experienced, I think about the isolation felt by many who visit Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. Whether their struggles include the inability to find a safe place to sleep, to bathe, to fill a child’s lunchbox, or to simply afford a winter coat, people who come to us seek sustenance and connection. Our staff and volunteers strive to bridge those feelings of separation by offering warm meals, fellowship, and social services as a gateway for positive change in the lives of our guests. Since the Church of the Holy Apostles opened in 1844, it has been a welcoming space in which no one is ever cast away. It is believed that our building served as a stop along the Underground Railroad a century before it provided a meeting place for the post-Stonewall gay rights movement. Congregation Beit Simchat Torah held services in our building for years, as has the New York Sufi community. The Soup Kitchen is proud to continue a tradition of hospitality by welcoming our neighbors in need of food since 1982. Throughout 2019, we integrated Holy Apostles’ powerful legacy into our work in new ways. We began hosting a New York City Warming Center, offering homeless individuals a safe, overnight place to stay when the temperature dipped below freezing. In April, we launched Sunday Supper, a free monthly meal for generations of family and friends to gather and enjoy each other’s company. One month later, we built raised bed gardens to harvest fresh leafy greens for our Backpack Pantry Program. And at year’s end we acquired Hearty Start, an organization that provides breakfast to members of the community who can’t make it to a soup kitchen or food pantry. One might say that the biggest milestone of the year was serving our nine millionth meal, which passed without fanfare but with the same preparation, dedication, and attention to detail that had gone into each of the previous eight million. The volume of meals we served in 2019 – just over 340,000 in total – underscores the sustained, high need for food among our neighbors here in Chelsea and many more who visit us from other boroughs. Each of the individuals, corporations, foundations, program partners, volunteers, and food donors you will read about supported this work and gave us the ability to expand our programs. I’m truly grateful for their generosity and yours. Together we are guided by the belief that there is no need to wait until a pandemic or natural disaster to be kind and compassionate. The Church, and the Soup Kitchen that comes to life within it, foster connection and kinship. As long as hunger persists in our community we will do everything we can to respond with care, strength, and dedication. Thank you for joining us in this essential work. The Rev. Dr. Anna S. Pearson, Executive Director 2 Addressing the Need for Food With nearly 1.1 million food insecure New Yorkers, including 16.2% of our city’s children, and emergency shelters filled to capacity, our Soup Kitchen provided a critical safety net. We served 340,000 meals, 80,000 more than the previous year, the most ever in the Soup Kitchen’s 37-year history. Expanding the Backpack Pantry Program In its first full year, the Backpack Pantry Program served150 households, a total of 43,680 meals. Supplementing weekday meal service, this program ensures that our youngest and oldest neighbors have access to nutritious food over the weekend when school meals aren’t available and emergency food programs are closed. Participants include families of children attending P.S. 33 as well as families in the Chelsea-Elliot and Fulton Houses. Growing the Brown Bag Lunch Program We prepare 1,300 portable mid-day meals each week for members of the Chelsea community who aren’t able to make it to the Soup Kitchen, including our neighbors experiencing homelessness who sleep in and around Penn Station, seniors residing in a nearby subsidized housing complex, and New Sanctuary Coalition, an organization that supports immigrants. Acquiring Hearty Start We’d been working with this organization since 2015, preparing 135 breakfast sandwiches each weekday for distribution to community members in need of food. With this program now in our lineup, we’ve strengthened our meal infrastructure. Hosting a NYC Warming Center In February we began providing overnight space, hot beverages, blankets, and breakfast sandwiches to guests when the temperature falls below 32’ F. We hosted 225 guests over 36 nights in 2019. Homelessness can happen to This place is an oasis in the desert. anyone. No matter who comes Eating here is a lifeline. Shelters in, or what their condition is, the don’t have time to provide welcome here is always so nice sustenance. But this place is and warm. therapeutic. They uplift you here. - David - Charles 3 OUR IMPACT: Essential Meals Distributed 224,376 Soup Kitchen Meals Backpacks Filled with Weekend Meals 43,680 45,891 Brown Bag Lunches Breakfast Sandwiches 27,025 2,122 Sunday Suppers 9,812,885 343,094 Total Meals MEALS SERVED 1982 - 2019 4 Enriching Our Guests’ Lives In addition to serving over 1,000 nutritious and delicious meals each weekday, we provide social services to support guests in living more manageable and fulfilling lives. 2019 saw Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen staff and volunteers facilitate over 70,000 social service interactions, approximately 10,000 more than the previous year, which averages out to approximately 200 guest services daily. To better serve our guests, we continue to increase the scope of our services through partnerships with organizations like Janian Mental Health Services and NYU Dental, and others that provide assistance with benefits like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, as well as housing and job prospects. Guests Are Invited to Participate In: PARTNER SUPPORT • Computer Labs We appreciate the support of organizations including: • Wednesday Haircuts • Clothing Distributions Blaze PR 2,000 pairs of socks • Medical Screenings Bombas 1,000 pairs of socks • Discussion Groups Delivering Good 400 toiletry bags • Meditation Sessions • Writers Workshop New York Cares 300 coats • Tuesday Movie Screenings Sleeping Bag Project 40 sleeping bags • IIC English as a Second Softer Streets 200 air mattresses Language Classes Tapestry 3,000 toiletry bags We’re also grateful for the generosity of the Friends and Family of Andy Stallman, which has helped our computer lab grow. In 2019, 2,204 guests improved their skills and applied for jobs on our computers. When you walk in here, you’re greeted I enjoy being here, the music, by a volunteer and you immediately the Writers Den, the people. smile because you see someone you Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen gives know. I’ve developed a social group here. me a chance to get away from I have a computer at home, but I still being homeless. It’s life-giving. come to the soup kitchen’s computer lab. I look forward to coming here. - Maurice - Michael 5 OUR IMPACT: Essential Services Provided 33,001 Hygiene Products Items of Clothing 11,185 9,284 Haircuts and Vouchers Mail Pickups 6,752 1,696 Reading Glasses Phone Use 1,083 1,685 ID Cards Housing Referrals 386 Health and Rehab 248 Referrals 6 Our Menus Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen is the largest soup kitchen in New York State, and the second largest in the country. In 2019, we served 14,000 gallons of dairy and 78,000 pounds of apples sourced from farms upstate. Our priority is creating a safe space for our guests to enjoy delicious and nutritious meals, with a menu that changes daily. A vegetarian meal is always available, and we prepare holiday-focused meals for Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Meals are often accompanied by live music performed by volunteers. SAMPLE MENU MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY • Parmesan • Turkey • Salisbury Steak • Barbecued • Garlic Ragu Broiled Tilapia Meatloaf with Mushroom Chicken Pasta • Sautéed Spinach • Mashed Gravy •