by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Those who were looking forward to a holiday basket from the Clara White Mission may have to be told there will be more lean than cuisine at Thanksgiving this year.
The number of people standing in line for breakfast or lunch has risen 73 percent while funding has stayed the same, said Ju’Coby Pittman, CEO/president of the Mission.
“Because we need the food for the Mission, this is the first year we’re not going to be able to give out the baskets,” said Pittman. “There’s been such an influx of people. We’ve got to take care of home before we take care of the community.”
Kraft’s Maxwell House responded to the Mission’s plight by donating $10,000 for food on Monday.
“We understand the importance of what’s going on here, and we understand the pressures you’re under,” Plant Manager Joe Waryold told Pittman in making the presentation before an audience of cooking students at the Mission. “We appreciate the need to support the underprivileged in the downtown community and in the Jacksonville community as a whole.”
Waryold was accompanied to the presentation by Melissa Dessauer, staff administrator.
“When nobody else believed in us, Maxwell House was one of the first companies to come on board,” Pittman told the students and their instructors, Chefs Ray Walshe and Herbert Burgin. “You all remember how the Mission used to look. Maxwell House really invested and has stayed with us.”
Maxwell House has also helped the Mission with Greater Expectations, a youth program that blends golf, tennis and academics. In addition, the company helps provide meals for the after-school program through the Food Bank.
“All of their help basically deals with food, Pittman said. “We wrote and told them about our experience this year, and they responded with this contribution.”
“No problem is more fundamental to human dignity than hunger,” according to a company press release. “As the nation’s largest food company, Kraft is committed to helping end hunger in America.”
A year ago, the Mission was serving between 235 and 250 meals on any given day. Today, it’s between 410 and 500.
“It’s causing a real big strain,” said Pittman. “I really don’t feel people would stand in lines to eat our food if they didn’t need it. The individuals preparing our food once stood in those lines. They all can see the potential.
“If they can get in the program and get their life together, there’s this heartfelt gratification and helping themselves and giving back to the community.”
The Mission had been spending about $10,000 a month on food. The bill is now between $18,000 and $20,000. Cost of putting together the holiday baskets, which benefit 1,500 to 1,800 families, is about $18,000.
The holiday baskets come in different sizes and are filled with enough meat, nonperishable items and gift certificates to provide a Thanksgiving meal and all the trimmings for a family of four. There is also extra food to help feed the family for a week. Those who have eight family members would receive two baskets.
The baskets go to the working poor, the disabled and senior citizens.
“Everything is a little tight this year,” said Pittman. “There’s been no increase in any of the grants. It’s basically been level funding.
“The economy now is steady, but a lot of people are not giving. They want to help, but they can’t. They don’t know if they’ll have a job tomorrow, and they have to take care of their families first.
“So we’ve got to scramble to do the best we can to keep the doors open.”
In years past, she said, the Apartment Association also has held a “major fund raiser” for the mission, sending along a caravan of nine or 10 trucks packed with food.
“Citibank is another partner that has been with us for many years,” said Pittman. “Usually, the community has been very responsive in doing food drives for us.”
Other benefactors have included CSX, Bell South, Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Mayo Clinic, the Weaver Foundation, Merrill Lynch and Publix.
The mission prepares about 100,000 meals each year. Lunch is served Monday through Thursday and breakfast Friday through Sunday. About half of those meals are “unduplicated, which means we’re not seeing the same people,” Pittman said.
The majority of clients live in Jacksonville, she said. Ninety-three percent of them are men; about half are homeless veterans.
“We feed the homeless, the unemployed and individuals who live on fixed incomes,” Pittman said. “By the time they get to the Clara White Mission, they’ve probably been to every social service agency to get help.”
Food isn’t the only help the Mission’s clients get. They may also receive transitional housing and vocational training, giving those in need a chance to turn their lives around, “giving back what they may have taken at one point,” said Pittman.
“We took a good look at the demographics of our population and developed the program around that,” Pittman said. “We went to the Emergency Homeless Coalition to find out what the gaps of services were in the community. And we visited different institutions around the country to determine the best practices and how to come back and develop programs that were specific to Jacksonville.”
Helping Hand Month straddles November and December. Those who can’t donate a lot of money are encouraged to sign pledge cards, helping pay for individual meals. The cost is $2 for each meal.
Anyone who wants to help should call the Clara White Mission at 354-4162.
“It’s been tight before, but I usually don’t worry,” said Pittman. “It seems there’s always a ram in the bush. It hasn’t happened yet, but we’ll see.”