Operation Salami Drop Update

As the New Jersey National Guard gears up for its biggest foreign deployment since World War II, Hobby's Deli in Newark is gearing up to support them. You can help.

Since May, 2005, Marc and Michael Brummer, the sons of Hobby's patriarch Sam Brummer, have shipped 22 tons of individual one-pound salamis to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even before the Guard ships out, Hobby's is sending its crinkly dried salamis to men and women in the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force.

For a $10 donation, you can add one of these pungent torpedoes to the next shipment, which goes out in July.

Hobby's salamis are made to its specifications by Sabrett in the Bronx. The salamis arrive at the venerable deli on Branford Place weighing two pounds each. The Brummers and their staff hang the salamis from the ceiling of the dining room.

"In a month each salami dries to a weight of one pound," says Michael. "We pay for the hanging and packing. Ten dollars covers the cost of one salami, a container of mustard, and shipping.

"Marc's and my idea of charity is that 100 percent of the donation goes to charity."

The idea behind Operation Salami Drop goes back to at least World War II, when Katz's Deli on the Lower East Side popularized the slogan, "Send a salami to your boy in the Army."

"Our father, who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, got salamis from home," says Michael."He and his buddies sat on their helmets and cut the salami with their bayonets and shared it all around."

In 2005, the Brummers began sending salamis to soldiers in the 42nd Infantry fighting in and around Tikrit, about 60 miles northwest of Baghdad.

"In 2005 we were ordering about a thousand salamis a week," says Marc. "Over the years we've gotten checks from almost every state in the nation. And the salamis go to troops from all over the country. [Recipients are men and women of all creeds and colors.] People are still donating. There's still a need."

The Brummers eventually began sending boxes of 40 salamis, with mustard, to individual soldiers whose names and Army Post Office addresses were given them by donors. That's still how they do it.

What does one soldier, who isn't expecting a package, do with a carton of 40 salamis?

"We ask them to share them with their buddies," says Michael. "It makes them feel good that somebody they never heard of is thanking them for serving our country over there."

"Salami has no bounds," adds Marc. "There's something funny about receiving a salami in the mail, especially if you aren't expecting it. The bottom line is that people love things from home. This is designed to put a smile on their faces."

Here's contact info from www.operationsalamidrop.com:

To donate a salami you can pay with a credit card online or send your check, made payable to Hobby's, to:

Operation Salami Drop
c/o Hobby's Delicatessen & Restaurant
32 Branford Place
Newark, NJ 07102-0410

ALL proceeds to go 100% to Operation Salami Drop. All salamis purchased for Operation Salami Drop will be at Hobby's cost!

Tags: Newark | Hobby's Deli | photography

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