The Mobile Soup Kitchens (MSK) staff and volunteers over 11,000 provided over 63,000 hours of service to date.

The MOBILE SOUP KITCHEN – Disaster Unit vehicle is part of our ongoing effort to enhance and expand the faith community and the general community’s capacity to reduce hunger and homelessness.  We provide tangible emergency relief, on an ongoing basis, to this identified high-risk populations in our county. 

Meals are served Monday through Friday in the evenings.  The following feeding sites have been secured within target communities to be used as daily meal distribution points.

The feeding sites are:   Monday - The Somerset Estates in the Somerset section of Franklin Township 5:30 to 6:30 pm,

                                     Tuesday - South Bound Brook Reformed Church 5:30 to 6:30 pm,

                                     Wednesday - Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Manville 6:00 to 7:00 pm,

                                     Thursday - United Reformed Church in Somerville 5:30 to 6:30 pm,

                                     Friday - The Somerset Estates in the Somerset section of Franklin Township 5:30 to 6:30 pm.

Saint Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Bridgewater serves as our "Home-Port" and dry dock.

Volunteer Crews from Saint Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Bridgewater operate the vehicle on every Thursday and the 2nd and 4 and 5th Wednesdays year round. (see below)

 

Volunteers from the Neshanic Reformed Church serve meals every Tuesday, year round. 

Chris Herbst, Gail and Mitch Miles, Karen Labe & Kevin Labe

 

Volunteers from Immaculata High School Campus Ministry operate the vehicle on the 2nd and 4th Mondays each month during the school year.

Richard Grieshaber and the students of Immaculata High School Campus Ministry, Helen Sanford - Director

 

Volunteers from Church of the Immaculate Conception in Somerville serve meals  every 1st and 3rd Mondays, year round.

Kerri Cummins - Volunteer Coordinator

 

Volunteers from the First Baptist Church of Somerville and individuals serve meals every 4th Friday, year round.

 

Volunteers from the from the Neshanic United Methodist Church serve meals on the 1st and 3rd Fridays, year round.

Sandy Young

 

Special thanks to Greg & Linda Breck,  Nadine & Vera Palchanes, Joan Spagnola, and a special gold star to Bob Hayward for service above and beyond the call of duty.

 

ST. BERNARD SHIP VOLUNTEER CREW MEMBERS 2006   DRIVERS Greg and Linda Breck - Coordinators Mike and Marie Cinque Bob Craig Lois Czajkowski Ron and Mary Haikes Ron Krilla Walt Leonarczyk John McHale Carol O’Neil Carl and Patty Roselle Deacon Gerry Sims Bob Trombley   SERVERS Harry and Dorothy Bogda Deacon Pat and Vivian Cline Thomas Cinque Dominick and Joyce Coppola Louis Constantini Bob Esposito Lisa Esposito Eileen Funkhouser Charlean and Alex Gmunder John, Bonnie and Brian Henry John Mahler Tim O’Connor Rosemary Pfreundschuh Marie Pierce Andrea Pinto Art and Helen Sanford Doreen Sekora Joan Spagnolo Barbara and Garrett Stewart Jackie Trombley

COOKS Linda and Greg Breck Noel Baumann Kathy Bugianesi Karen Castellon Paula Clark Rosa Coulson Suzanne Daruwala Marlene Giannattasio Nancy Gitterman Charlean Gmunder Bonnie Henry Maureen Hurley Karen Ivany Christine Kelly Vivian Cline Paula Lindberg Carolann Mattaliano Margie McFadden ML McKeon Diane DeCristo Miller Carolyn Moody John and Monica Murphy Cynthia O'Connor Felice O'Hare Carol O'Neil Wilma Papa Cynthia Parayil Cathy Partilla Kathleen Cirello Penn Andrea Pinto Anna Racz Anna Rooney Helen Sanford Debbie Sims Tina Szafran Marianne Stevens Patricia Sutter Susan Welgos Nicole Woltschlaeger

 

                                Greg & Linda Breck

 

 

 We choose to call it a Mobile Community Drop-in-Center.

 The MOBILE SOUP KITCHEN also serves as a vehicle to provide an array of direct services such as:

Information and Referrals

HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention

Alcohol/Substance Interim Counseling and Referrals

Shelter Loss Interventions

Kindness and Concern

We are building capacity in the community by linking the clients served with the many programs and resources available.  This one stop shopping approach would help locate and expose an often sick and difficult population to reach to the array of programs and life saving services available to those in need in our region.

 DONATIONS ARE NEEDED TO HELP COVER THE COST OF:

Fuel

Maintenance

Program Liability Insurance

Repairs

Supplies

Vehicle Insurance

 

THE VESSELS PAST & PRESENT

 

First MSK                                        SS P. White Armstrong                        SS Senator Walter J. Kavanaugh

                                                                       

 

 

During the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster of 9-11-2001, SHIP once again responded to the call for help from the Emergency Service Units Command Center at Ground Zero.  We provided over 10,000 gourmet meals to the uniformed service workers.  The Mobile Soup Kitchen - Disaster Unit visited the red zone in Ground Zero every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from October 2001 to mid January 2002.  Police, Fire Departments, EMS Units and OEM Units from throughout Somerset County escorted the Mobile Soup Kitchen - Disaster Unit and support vehicles, carrying volunteers to the site each time we served meals.  Tom thru SHIP raised $75,000.00 and spent more to cover the cost of operations

Tom O'Leary, SHIP’s Executive Director was presented with awards paid for by donations contributed by the men whose job it was to search through the remains of the World Trade Center looking for the bodies of the dead.  These American Heroes served with the Special Service Unit - NYPD, Special Service Unit - Department of Corrections and the NY State Troopers working in the recovery process in recognition of the service to the workers at Ground Zero.  They called Tom and SHIP an "Oasis in the Desert."  Tom was also presented with a metal crosses cut from the metal remains of Tower I and Tower II in memory of his service and in memory of his cousin Charles "Chuck" Mendez, NYFD who perished in the attack. 

During the aftermath of the recent Hurricane Floyd the Mobile Soup Kitchen – Disaster Unit responded to the call for emergency meals.  The Crews provided over 5,600 meals to the displaced county residents in need.  The meals were provided to emergency shelters and feeding sites in Somerville, Bound Brook, South Bound Brook and Manville.  The vehicle and crews worked every day for the first fourteen days after the disaster struck. 

Donations received totaled $11,606.94.  Payments were made to 26 families or individuals affected by the disaster.  The payments varied from a low of $250.00 to a high of $1,000.00.  The output of funds surpassed the donations received.  More than 2,000 thousands of personal items and household items were distributed and over 1,000 pieces of new clothing were also distributed to those in need.

See Mobile Soup Kitchen _ Disaster Unit Needs List

TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY IN THE BATTLE AGAINST POVERTY, HOMELESSNESS, HUNGER, ABANDONMENT, NEGLECT AND MORE - ENLIST AND JOIN ONE OF OUR CREWS CLICK HERE

 

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