The press release said the employment center would serve 200 homeless men a Thanksgiving lunch, which celebrity chef David Burke would cook. But where were they? The 200 men?
In the dining hall was Aiden, sitting quietly. He has lived at the shelter for two months. Usually, he spends his days at the library, but the day before, he had been at the HELP USA’s Supportive Employment Center, which was organizing the lunch. He hadn’t heard anything about a Thanksgiving lunch, he said. And so, he anticipated only 20 people would show up, “because no one told us about the lunch until today,” he said.
Rahsan Gillard, a father of two, hadn’t heard abut the Thanksgiving lunch either. “I didn’t know there would be a special meal today,” he said, but was happy about the news. Rahsan Gillard has stayed at the shelter for three months. He gets help fro the shelter to get his license as a security guard back.
HELP USA’s Supportive Employment Center is located on Wards Island, where the trees are higher than the buildings and green grass grows. The shelter helps homeless adults with accommodation and vocational training. It seems far from Manhattan, but in fact it is not.
The entrance has two doors: one with a security scanner, the other without. Journalists were allowed to enter the door without the security scanner. They brought their camera bags with them. It was impossible for the staff to know for sure what was in those bags. The people living there, at the shelter, needed to pass the security scanner.
Inside, next to some vending machines, was a team of four press people waiting for journalists to arrive. A tall, blond woman introduced herself, and said, “I thought we could start by showing you the garden, and then we can go into the kitchen.”
The garden was surrounded by barracks where, the PR woman said, homeless men lived. The tomatoes had lost their red color and were hanging gloomily. “I guess the season is about to come to an end,” the PR woman said, but assured us that the chef would “definitely” use some of the greens for the Thanksgiving lunch. The kale was still thriving.
It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and all the seats in the dining hall were empty, rowed up along the gray tables.
In the kitchen were two chefs and two sous chefs, about five videographers, three journalists and at least four PR people, cramped together. It smelled of food and humans. The kitchen was small, with a table in the middle, and a turkey on the stove.
David Burke was there not only to serve the 200 men, but also to teach some of those enrolled in the culinary arts program, funded by HELP USA, how to cook. Alvin Hardy was one of them. “I have always loved food, especially the eating part,” Hardy said. He was standing close to the turkey, taking “mental notes,” in order to learn how to cook he said, hinting toward the table where David Burke was working.
Burke said he wanted to teach the men enrolled in the culinary arts program how to appreciate food, and hoped that it would give them a sense of meaning in their lives. He also said he would hire one of them at one of his restaurants.
Daniel Maguire, the culinary arts program director, said, “The Thanksgiving meal pulls everybody together, which is sort of the general idea of Thanksgiving -- helping people in need.”
“How many do you think will come and eat the meal today?” I asked
“About 125 to 140,” said Maguire.
“Some people said they hadn’t heard about the event.” I asked
“Yeah, the main meal will be served for dinner,” Maguire said. “With David Burke, we are just preparing it now.”
“Ok, so now they will be served what?”
“Gyros with rice,” Maguire said.
A PR person whispered to Maguire, “Try to get out some plates and get some of the guys that came.”
A line, of about 15 people, was beginning to appear where the lunch, the gyros, would be served. In the kitchen, the Thanksgiving meal was ready. One of the PR people shouted to the men in line for gyros, asking if anyone wanted to try the Thanksgiving meal instead. The cameras and journalists were already set up around the table. One of the PR people directed the men from the gyro line, “you sit here, thank you, and you sit here, thank you.”
Five men sat and ate the Thanksgiving meal surrounded by cameras, journalists and chefs that were watching them. They said the food was good.
In the dining hall was Aiden, sitting quietly. He has lived at the shelter for two months. Usually, he spends his days at the library, but the day before, he had been at the HELP USA’s Supportive Employment Center, which was organizing the lunch. He hadn’t heard anything about a Thanksgiving lunch, he said. And so, he anticipated only 20 people would show up, “because no one told us about the lunch until today,” he said.
Rahsan Gillard, a father of two, hadn’t heard abut the Thanksgiving lunch either. “I didn’t know there would be a special meal today,” he said, but was happy about the news. Rahsan Gillard has stayed at the shelter for three months. He gets help fro the shelter to get his license as a security guard back.
HELP USA’s Supportive Employment Center is located on Wards Island, where the trees are higher than the buildings and green grass grows. The shelter helps homeless adults with accommodation and vocational training. It seems far from Manhattan, but in fact it is not.
The entrance has two doors: one with a security scanner, the other without. Journalists were allowed to enter the door without the security scanner. They brought their camera bags with them. It was impossible for the staff to know for sure what was in those bags. The people living there, at the shelter, needed to pass the security scanner.
Inside, next to some vending machines, was a team of four press people waiting for journalists to arrive. A tall, blond woman introduced herself, and said, “I thought we could start by showing you the garden, and then we can go into the kitchen.”
The garden was surrounded by barracks where, the PR woman said, homeless men lived. The tomatoes had lost their red color and were hanging gloomily. “I guess the season is about to come to an end,” the PR woman said, but assured us that the chef would “definitely” use some of the greens for the Thanksgiving lunch. The kale was still thriving.
It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and all the seats in the dining hall were empty, rowed up along the gray tables.
In the kitchen were two chefs and two sous chefs, about five videographers, three journalists and at least four PR people, cramped together. It smelled of food and humans. The kitchen was small, with a table in the middle, and a turkey on the stove.
David Burke was there not only to serve the 200 men, but also to teach some of those enrolled in the culinary arts program, funded by HELP USA, how to cook. Alvin Hardy was one of them. “I have always loved food, especially the eating part,” Hardy said. He was standing close to the turkey, taking “mental notes,” in order to learn how to cook he said, hinting toward the table where David Burke was working.
Burke said he wanted to teach the men enrolled in the culinary arts program how to appreciate food, and hoped that it would give them a sense of meaning in their lives. He also said he would hire one of them at one of his restaurants.
Daniel Maguire, the culinary arts program director, said, “The Thanksgiving meal pulls everybody together, which is sort of the general idea of Thanksgiving -- helping people in need.”
“How many do you think will come and eat the meal today?” I asked
“About 125 to 140,” said Maguire.
“Some people said they hadn’t heard about the event.” I asked
“Yeah, the main meal will be served for dinner,” Maguire said. “With David Burke, we are just preparing it now.”
“Ok, so now they will be served what?”
“Gyros with rice,” Maguire said.
A PR person whispered to Maguire, “Try to get out some plates and get some of the guys that came.”
A line, of about 15 people, was beginning to appear where the lunch, the gyros, would be served. In the kitchen, the Thanksgiving meal was ready. One of the PR people shouted to the men in line for gyros, asking if anyone wanted to try the Thanksgiving meal instead. The cameras and journalists were already set up around the table. One of the PR people directed the men from the gyro line, “you sit here, thank you, and you sit here, thank you.”
Five men sat and ate the Thanksgiving meal surrounded by cameras, journalists and chefs that were watching them. They said the food was good.
