Monday, December 2, 2024
The City of Long Beach is hosting a food drive at City Hall to benefit the Long Beach Soup Kitchen, continuing the city’s longstanding tradition of collaborating with the organization.
The drive is soliciting non-perishable food items to help the soup kitchen serve its guests through the holiday season. Residents are encouraged to drop donations off during City Hall’s operating hours, with a list of specific needs provided by the soup kitchen on its website, at longbeachsoupkitchen.com. Donations will be collected until Nov. 22.
“This is an ongoing scenario with the city,” Robert Blau, president of the soup kitchen, said. “The Long Beach Recreation Department has helped us out; the local union has helped us out. So it’s not only City Hall, but it’s the entire city of employees who have really been supportive of us over the years.”
The city has played an important role in supporting the soup kitchen’s efforts. The kitchen benefits from the use of city-owned space at 140 W. Pine St. rent- and utility-free. Several departments of city government have also helped the organization with logistics and repairs as well as with organizing food drives.
The soup kitchen has been serving the community for over 40 years, providing hot and cold meals six days a week. Since the pandemic, it has seen a significant increase in demand, and now serves 2,000 to 3,000 meals per month. It operates from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday on West Pine Street, and offers a to-go meal option for families and individuals who may not feel comfortable dining in. The to-go meals usually include a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a dessert, if
The City of Long Beach is hosting a food drive at City Hall to benefit the Long Beach Soup Kitchen, continuing the city’s longstanding tradition of collaborating with the organization.
The drive is soliciting non-perishable food items to help the soup kitchen serve its guests through the holiday season. Residents are encouraged to drop donations off during City Hall’s operating hours, with a list of specific needs provided by the soup kitchen on its website, at longbeachsoupkitchen.com. Donations will be collected until Nov. 22.
“This is an ongoing scenario with the city,” Robert Blau, president of the soup kitchen, said. “The Long Beach Recreation Department has helped us out; the local union has helped us out. So it’s not only City Hall, but it’s the entire city of employees who have really been supportive of us over the years.”
The city has played an important role in supporting the soup kitchen’s efforts. The kitchen benefits from the use of city-owned space at 140 W. Pine St. rent- and utility-free. Several departments of city government have also helped the organization with logistics and repairs as well as with organizing food drives.
The soup kitchen has been serving the community for over 40 years, providing hot and cold meals six days a week. Since the pandemic, it has seen a significant increase in demand, and now serves 2,000 to 3,000 meals per month. It operates from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday on West Pine Street, and offers a to-go meal option for families and individuals who may not feel comfortable dining in. The to-go meals usually include a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a dessert, if available, and a bottle of water. The hot meals feature protein- and carbohydrate-based options and vegetables.
The kitchen also serves 60 to 80 meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, fostering a sense of community among those who may not have family or other support during the holidays. There are to-go options on holidays as well, and for Thanksgiving the to-go meal typically includes a turkey dinner with all the traditional trimmings.
“The biggest challenge is, we have to, unfortunately, take all those turkeys out of boxes and put them in shopping bags so our guests can walk home with them,” Blau explained. “It’s impossible for them to carry a box without it being tied up.”
In addition to the food drive, the organization encourages community members to contribute and for other organizations to host drives for items such as toiletries, hats, gloves, scarves and socks during the winter months.
While donations often peak during the holiday season, the soup kitchen’s leadership emphasizes the importance of year-round support. Financial contributions are crucial to its continuing operations, because the demand for meals remains high throughout the year. The hope is that the increased visibility of the City Hall drive will spur ongoing community involvement.
“When we’re giving food out and our volunteers are around the pantry, I will tell you that, for the most part, our guests are very, very much appreciative of everything that we do for them,” Blau said. “I know that we believe that we’re doing a great thing for our community and for the people that we serve.”
Most of the food the kitchen prepares is donated by Trader Joe’s, which delivers soup, vegetables, fruits, meats, bread and canned goods each week. The soup kitchen also accepts donations from neighbors and local groups. Blau has said that the generosity of the community, and additional contributions from Island Harvest and Long Island Cares, can always be relied on.
