Phillip Damico who lost his job a month ago waits by the door of the Our daily Bread food kithcen in Lehigh. The food kitchen has been forced to cut back on the days it is able to serve meals. Photo by Mel Toadvine

The food kitchen at Christ United Methodist Church known as Our Daily Bread is feeling the pinch of difficult economic times.

As of last week, the food kitchen has quit serving meals five days a week and has cut back to three days a week.

Tim Hershey of Lehigh is the new chef and says that for the food kitchen to continue, he takes no salary.

“We have run out of food. We are not getting the contributions from the community so we can not buy enough food at the Harry Chapin Food Bank to remain open five days a week,” he said.

A sign appeared on the door last week and several people were turned away on Tuesday and again on Thursday.

Tim Hershey is the volunteer cook at the food Lehigh food kitchen, Our Daily Bread.

Hershey said the food kitchen will only be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“I wish it didn’t have to be that way because I know there are so many people who want a hot meal in the middle of the day, but we don’t have the money or the food and we had to cut back.

“Some in the church office said we should close, but the pastor said we should first try to keep it open for three days a week and see what happens,” Hershey said. “He also wants us to serve a more nutritious meal.”

Hershey and his wife, Nicole, have five children, ages from 2 to 23. They own a business that operates out of their home called Smarttech. His wife is also employed by Kohls department store.

“We are operating now with all volunteers. Nobody is getting any pay,” he said.

A sign on the front door of Fellowship Hall at the First United Methodist Church in Lehigh informs those who come to the Lehigh Acres Our Daily Bread food kitchen for a hot mid-day meal that is can serve food only three days a week instead of five. Photo by Mel Toadvine

Blanda Solomon was the last cook at the food kitchen and for the past several month she has had to cut back on food and make it stretch because of the lack of donations.

Although she was paid a small stipend to run the food kitchen, she had to quit and go to Georgia to take care of a family member.

Hershey says he is learning from his wife how to be a good cook.

“She is teaching me a lot,” he said.

Hershey, a member of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in town, said his pastor suggested that the church step up to the bat and Hershey ended up volunteering his time to keep the kitchen open for as long as possible.

“We can only stay open if we get $2,000 a monthly. If we could get that, it would be no problem,” he said.

The food kitchen serves from 30 to 60 people a day and Hershey said just a few days before the announcement was made, there were 65 plates of food served to almost 50 people. On days when schools are closed, there may be as many as 60 to 70 people and kids at the food kitchen for a meal. Hershey said students often come to get a lunch because nobody at home has the food. On this particular day when they served 65 plates, some went back for seconds because it was available,” Hershey said.

He said the food kitchen appreciate the desserts and breads given to them from Publix supermarket, but even they have cut back on giving the food kitchen bread, he said.

“It’s a sign of the times,” he said. ‘They’re doing the best they can do to help us.”

Sometimes when he goes to the Henry Chapin Food Bank to purchase food, they will offer free pallets of extra food.

“It’s ours for the taking and that helps us out a lot,” he said. “They have been very generous.”

For the past several months, the former cook has had to cut back on the food served five days a week or it would have run out, Hershey said.

“What Blanda would do is stretch the food, make a lot of soups, but she had no choice with the food kitchen being open five days a week. She did a great job for us while she was here,” he said.

“She formed groups to go out and ask for help, she did a lot,” he said.

Hershey hopes that if the churches in Lehigh give more and if the people who can afford it can give more, he will be able to offer a better plate of food to those who come.

“We want the food to become more nutritious and healthy for our guests,” he said.

On this particular day, Hershey was serving chuck roast with with some vegetables.

He hope that the food kitchen in the near future, if possible, will be able to send those who come for lunch with a sandwich to take home with them, like it used to be when we had more food and more assistance. The food kitchen has been open for about eight years and when it first open most churches in Lehigh said they would help out, but that has not always been the case.

The food kitchen is always looking for good “dedicated volunteers,” and suggested that if anyone would like to help, just show up at the food kitchen. It is situated in the First United Methodist Church on the corner of Lee Blvd. and Homestead Rd. in the fellowship hall.

The doors open at 12:15 p.m. and close at around 1:30 p.m.

Hershey comes in early in the morning at around 7 or 8 a.m. and stays until around 2 p.m. in the afternoon. If nobody is available to wash the dishes, he takes on that responsibility, too.

The problems are so severe at the food kitchen that on the day of the interview last week, they had no vegetables on the shelves left.

“All we had were some cans of kidney beans,” Hershey said. He has had to become certified to serve as the cook for Our Daily Bread.

“I’ll work for free for as long as it takes or until they have no choice but to shut down the food kitchen,” Hershey said.

Maxine Cersosimo, a long-time volunteer at the food kitchen, says she hates to see the cutbacks.

“I know these people are hungry and that a hot meal in the middle of the day is the most that many people get now because of hard times,” she said.

Dennis Snyder, another volunteer, says he is upset, too, because it means less food for people who need it. Snyder comes most days and washes the pots, pans and dishes.

Marie Betts, another volunteer, who works on the serving line – and they try to have at least four people helping out – said she is calling her friends and asking for help.

“The food kitchen needs money to buy food. Even though some people bring us food, it doesn’t go that far. What we need are contributions from the churches and the people who can afford it,” she said.

Maxine often comes in to volunteer when other volunteers have to opt out.

“That’s another thing we have to worry about,” said Cersosimo. “Now with going to three days a week, it affects our scheduling and some people can come on certain days. On days when we don’t have enough volunteers, we have to call others to come and help,” she said.

Outside sitting on the pavement next to the entrance of the food kitchen was Philip Damico, who said he lost his job a month ago and is having it hard making ends meet.

“I guess their opening three days a week is better than not being open at all,” he said grimly. “It’s just hard on everybody these days.”