WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Twenty-five years ago Ken and Allene Berman, of Rye Brook, saw an ad in the newspaper seeking volunteers to help serve Thanksgiving dinner at the Grace Church Community Center in White Plains.
"We had nothing to do that morning, so we came. And the next year, they asked if we could come back. We've been doing it ever since," said Ken Berman, 71, who organized the soup kitchen's annual Thanksgiving dinner for the 24th time this Thursday. "Volunteers have wonderful meals. They have everything from nuts to soup, and we feel everybody deserve the same thing."
Berman and his wife, a nursery school teacher, grew more involved with the White Plains non-profit, which primarily serves at-risk and homeless Westchester residents. Berman then spent 20 years on the Grace Church Community Center's Board of Directors and began presiding over it about three years ago.
The soup kitchen has seen the amount of diners it serves surge by about 50 percent since the economy crashed, according to Berman. Although Berman says funding is a bit down, he says the community has been very generous with food and time donations during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years dinners he organizes.
"It costs us very little because we get such a tremendous amount of support. Many of the volunteers write checks or bring food. We do get a lot of food donations," Berman said of gathering the resources to serve and distribute 300 meals at the soup kitchen and deliver an additional 270 dinners this Thanksgiving.
Cooks started prepping the turkey and side dishes this Monday, according to Berman, who said about 50 volunteers helped serve the approximately 150 diners who came to the soup kitchen this Thursday.
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