Salvation Army in Hackensack serves holiday breakfast to hundredsLast updated: Thursday November 24, 2011, 11:10 PM
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE
STAFF WRITER
The Record
HACKENSACK — Jessie Frias arrived at the Second Reformed Church at 5:45 a.m. on Thursday for her cooking shift at the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving breakfast.
MITSU YASUKAWA / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Madison McCarthy, 6, of River Vale serves Thanksgiving breakfast to Manuel Calle and his son Manuel Calle Jr., 5.
Frias, a volunteer, was dishing out scrambled eggs, sausages and pancakes, bacon, hash brown to the 250 guests. But like many of those who showed up for the hot breakfast, she also had come to rely on food pantries to help make ends meet.
Variations of Frias’ story were told by many of the families on hand for breakfast at the church on Union Street. They were families now struggling to get by on one income instead of two, and those trying to make ends meet on part-time jobs that replaced their full-time jobs.
But on Thursday, these Salvation Army guests expressed gratitude not only for the holiday breakfast, but for the things they did still have — their families, their homes, their health and the food pantries that help cushion the blow of this tough economy.
“If it weren’t for the food pantries, we wouldn’t be able to make it — unemployment only goes so far,” said Frias, who lost her job as a paralegal in the past year. Her family of four — including a college-student — has struggled to make ends meet, she said.
“We are grateful that God has blessed us with programs like these in Bergen County," she said. "In Bergen County, people are sometimes ashamed to go to food pantries. Bergen County is one of the richest counties in the country, but people here do go hungry.”
William Serrano, who also is unemployed, attended the breakfast with his wife, Australia, their three children — ages 17, 16 and 11 — and a family friend.
He said the instability is taking a toll on his family. But he remained positive.
“Hopefully, things will turn around,” he said. “It’s very important to maintain a positive attitude.”
He noted he still had a lot to be thankful for: “That I have a roof over my heard, that I have all the basic necessities, my health, and my family, of course,” he said.
His daughter, Alyssa Serrano, said she considers herself fortunate because she has loved ones she can rely on.
“Some kids don’t have family or friends to count on,” she said. “You are happiest when you are with your family.”
Delores Cristina Diaz of South Hackensack was there with her daughter, Dianna Diaz, 23, and her brother and his wife, who were visiting from the Dominican Republic.
Once a two-income household, the Diazes have been forced to rely on one breadwinner, she said.
“This,” she said referring to the breakfast, “was a very good idea. It’s something very nice.”
She said she is thankful for the pantries.
“I thank God every day because every day is Thanksgiving Day,” she said. “It is not supposed to be just one day. You are supposed to be thankful every day.”
This is the Salvation Army’s second annual breakfast, said Lt. Paul Valverde, the corps officer for the Hackensack chapter.
The chapter decided to hold the breakfast because many other organizations already offered traditional Thanksgiving lunches and dinners, he said. Its volunteers, preparing donated food, served 720 pancakes, 400 sausages and untold numbers of eggs, Valverde said.
In addition to the breakfast, 130 people were given food baskets that contained everything they needed — including whole uncooked turkeys — for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, he said.
“It’s something different,” he said. “Many of them are what we qualify as ‘working poor;’ they don’t have the privilege of sometimes going out to restaurants and things like that, so to be served — to just sit and be served and taken care of — is really different.”
The volunteer help included Michelle McCarthy, her husband, Michael, and daughters Kristen, 9, and Madison, 6.
The McCarthys, of River Vale, said it was important for their children to participate and volunteer in the community.
“We’d like to make sure that the kids are aware that there are a lot of people who are less fortunate than they are and do not have as much as they do,” said Michael McCarthy, “It gives them an appreciation for what life is like for most people.”
Hackensack Councilman John P. Labrosse Jr., and Councilwoman Karen Sasso were among the volunteers.
Labrosse said he was proud of the Salvation Army for the work it does.
“It’s also disheartening to see that we have so many people who need help,” he said. “It seems like the number is increasing. People are falling on hard times. People are losing homes. People can’t afford their rent. Government assistance is failing. We are losing more and more help to our seniors, help to everybody. And it’s really an unfortunate situation. Believe me, I look forward to a Thanksgiving morning when nobody needs to come here.”
E-mail: superville@northjersey.com
