New Providence Couple Addresses Food Insecurity
Submitted by Julia Brannan-Rauch
These are dire times for many. As long-time volunteers at St. John’s soup kitchen in Newark, New Providence residents Mike and Paula Savage saw how devastating it was for the Newark community when congregate feeding sites were forced to close down. So they got busy.
For the past six months, Mike and Paula, together with fellow volunteers Pete Lopez, Paul Johnson and Mike Scarola, have come together to address food insecurity in nearby neighborhoods through a community-wide sandwich-making effort.
It’s a simple concept and it’s one that makes a huge difference. With money out of their own pockets, they started buying sandwich ingredients – in bulk. Fifteen pounds of baloney, 10 pounds of cheese, 16 loaves of bread. Peanut butter and jelly, snack bars and fruit, all to assure that area families can have at least one meal.
It started small, but through posts on the community Facebook page, began to draw in others in the community. Their first call to action yielded over 500 sandwiches, and a sandwich-making volunteer “class” of local college kids who were at home looking for something to do. Now, the group has been working to offset hunger for over 24 weeks and averaging about 1,000 sandwiches a week. As of this writing, they’ve donated 24,711 sandwiches. Every Monday, Mike and his crew gather at Our Lady of Peace in New Providence to make sandwiches, collect sandwich donations, and organize the drop off to the area soup kitchens and food banks.
Their goal is to keep the effort going as long as there is a need. But Mike has even higher aspirations – he’d like to next work on setting up dental care for the homeless in Newark. He’s begun to lay the groundwork for that endeavor, and there is no doubt that if anyone can make that happen, it’s him.
(above) If you are interested in dropping off sandwich supplies, or pre-made sandwiches, you may do so on Mondays, 1-2 p.m. at Our Lady of Peace Church, 111 South Street, New Providence 07974. All types of sandwiches are gratefully accepted. Use no condiments, and they should be labeled as to what the sandwiches contain, and how many. Yes, peanut butter and jelly are acceptable. Mike Savage also collects fruit such as oranges, bananas, and snacks to accompany the sandwiches. They also are grateful for financial donations to pay for more sandwiches and other items for the soup kitchens.
