Jusst Sooup Kitchen in Milton thanks community for surge of donations
MILTON, Del. – The Jusst Sooup Kitchen in Milton is thanking the community for an influx of donations, that came in following an anonymous Facebook post asking for those in the area to bring in donations of all kinds, not just food.
“We had people that came in, they brought all kinds of nice hoodies, all kinds of jackets with all kinds of hats, all kinds of socks, all kinds of gloves and hats and different things like that, Those are things that are truly, truly needed, and all kinds of canned goods and everything, 10 bags of potatoes,” said Reverend Dale Dunning.
Dunning says her soup Kitchen helps to serve over 150 people, at over 1,000 meals a week including soups, sandwiches, snacks and more. It’s a task that sees her and her team of chefs cooking until the early morning Thursday to get the weekly service ready.
But she wants to help them with more than a hot meal, and that’s why she says those donations are crucial.
“I want to give them the best that I can give them. I think about it, if it were me, what I want and I treat them in love on them just like I love myself, try to encourage them and build them up,” Dunning said.
Dale says it’s not just the homeless those donations, and their efforts help; she says they serve the working poor, elderly and folks who are tight on cash this holiday season.
Those who rely on the soup kitchen call it an essential service for the area.
“A lot of people that come up here need two different types of resources, she’s always there for them, you know, brothers, religious or financial or just somebody to talk to, she’s a good motivator,” said customer Anthony Hopkins.
Dunning says many of the donated clothing items have already found their way to those who need them, she says it’s way of making her kitchen a one-stop shop for needs physical, culinary and even emotional.
“We had a lady to come in one day and she looked again and saw a little bit or our Christmas decorations and she started to cry, she said, This reminds me of being a grandma, she said this, that was my safe place. No harm came to me,” Dunning said adding she and her husband knew then and there they wanted the kitchen to have that meaning for all those who come through their doors.
To that end she has started both a GED program and a sowing school for those who wish to learn, with accredited teachers working at both locations at her ministry.
The GED class is taught by a professional educator from the Sussex Tech Adult education program, as does the sewing class with 3 levels of expertise.
The students will help make blankets and clothes and get to keep the sewing machine upon completion of the course.
Dunning says as the program grows she will need more space to deal with the demand from those she serves for both of the classes.
She’s hoping that a community that she has delivered for her time, and time again, can help her make that goal a reality.
“I want one of those mobile office trailers because I kept thinking we could get more people than that and we need room, iron, we have to shift things around,” she said adding that her next round of classes will begin in January.
She says the trailers would replace her current buildings that house both the GED and sowing rooms.
“It went from two to 4 to 9 to 12 to 21. And as you see, this place is somewhat small and we can only handle so many people,” Dunning said.
