Out of 42,000 families in Cape May County, about 4,000 live under the poverty line; another 9,500 have social security as their sole source of income.
“Being Realtors, we go into a lot of homes,” says Douglass Jewell of Swainton, who runs the Jewell Real Estate Agency with his wife, Joyce. They are two of five local business owners spearheading the effort. “We were noticing senior citizens, who on the last three, four, five days of the month, are eating saltine crackers.” They also met kids living off condiments and icy pops.
The Free Meal Center will provide healthy, nutritious meals instead. Housed in the former Mayfield Inn on Route 9 in Burleigh, the center will serve free meals six days a week – lunch Monday through Friday, and breakfast and lunch on Saturdays. Plans are to open by Memorial Day.
“We’re really not putting any conditions on this. There are no applications to fill out. We’re not even going to ask their name,” says Jewell. They’ll be hiring two cooks for food prep and will rely on volunteers to keep the kitchen and meals moving.
The group takes possession of the building, which they bought outright, on March 15. They’re looking for a few handy hands, and donations, to help convert and restore the former restaurant.