Millionth Meal Served with Mixed Emotions
Episcopal News Service. October 6, 1988 [88209]
Bruce Campbell, Editor in the Office of Communication at the Episcopal Church Center
NEW YORK (DPS, Oct. 6) -- In a logjamb of reporters, television crews, local politicians, and diocesan representatives, the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in New York City served its millionth meal to a hungry guest sometime on the morning of September 28. The exact recipient of the historic meal was not identified. Most guests choose to remain anonymous.
The landmark event, however, had its tragic side. "I want to go out of business -- I don't want to serve a two-millionth meal," said the Rev. William A. Greenlaw, rector of Holy Apostles and executive director of the Soup Kitchen. "We are a band-aid on a problem that is so large that only the government has resources to deal with it adequately."
The program, considered to be the largest private on-site feeding program in New York State, and in the Church nationally, has been serving meals since 1982; it was founded by then-rector of Holy Apostles, Father Randy Frew. Presently, as many as a thousand guests a day are served in lunchtime shifts, in a space that holds comfortably around 70 people. The program has been a focus of national attention, both as a model and as a barometer of the intractability of the situation of the homeless. The Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, Bishop of New York, was among the celebrants on the serving line in the church's cramped kitchen area. He joined with program administrators in noting the irony of the celebration, saying "I don't want anyone to be lulled into thinking this program is a beautiful thing. It's an absolute outrage that people don't have food and homes. But I am very proud of Holy Apostles."
On the morning of the commemoration, guests vied for space with the gathered press, shoving cafeteria-style trays past dignataries, including Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins and State Senator Franz Leichter. One guest, queried in mid-meal by a reporter about what it felt like being at the Soup Kitchen, replied, "What's it feel like? It feels like getting my stomach full."
Another guest, Isaac McQueen (who was willing to be identified), described the character of the work done by Holy Apostles as "the ability to get beyond bureaucratic attitudes and see a person as an individual." He said that when he found an apartment after a two-year search, parishioners at Holy Apostles, when they heard of his new situation, donated furniture and appliances.
The Soup Kitchen's staff feel the stress of working to capacity at a job they wish there was no need for. Nevertheless, they hope to offer more services at the site -- Hispanic counselors, for instance -- to maintain the quality of their ministry. "We are institutionalized in this place in a way we never intended," said the Rev. Catherine Roskam, the Soup Kitchen's project director, as she surveyed the crowd. "But we are here because of the trend in society and government to abdicate responsibility to work for the common good. This kitchen is an indictment of our society."
Greenlaw's description of his involvement in the program suggested that he has also been somewhat radicalized by the experience. "I respectfully decline to be one of [Vice President Bush's] 'thousand points of light.' This effort was started as a temporary solution to an emergency situation."
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