BETHLEHEM, Pa. — New Bethany's annual Souper Day luncheon on Friday was one teeming with thanks.
With nearly 300 people in attendance at ArtsQuest Center, supporters had their fill on Grecian chopped and Caesar salads and herb-roasted grilled chicken. But smoked butternut squash bisque and Italian wedding soup appeared to steal the show.
Nobody was turned away.
New Bethany resident Hannah Becker, in a video shown at the event, thanked New Bethany and all its people for “allowing me the opportunity to begin again.”
New Bethany officials said that’s been the nonprofit’s mantra for decades as it celebrates 40 years of “hope served alongside a hot meal,” Associate Director Veronne Demesyeux said.
New Bethany — offering "hope and support to people who experience poverty, hunger, and homelessness" — is based at Fourth and Wyandotte streets in South Bethlehem.
It offers its Southside Drop-In Center, Choice Food Pantry, transitional housing program and more assistance on site.
New Bethany in 2024 saw 687 volunteers and more than 4,700 volunteer hours. Thirty-six people are on staff.
New Bethany resident Hannah Becker, in a video shown at the event, thanked New Bethany and all its people for “allowing me the opportunity to begin again.”
Souper Day highlights
Some highlights from the Souper Day luncheon:
- 2024 New Bethany impact numbers: More than 2,700 showers; 200 people received case management services; 40,000 hot meals served to 1,000 people total; $225,000 in rental assistance distributed; 100,000 pounds of donated food from local sources
- Bethlehem Health Bureau Health Director Kristin Wenrich said the Pennsylvania Youth Survey showed 12% of Bethlehem Area School District students in 2021 and 30% in 2023 responded “yes” when asked if they were worried about not having enough food at home
- New Bethany Director of Operations Bill Lohr said the nonprofit’s food pantry once was “a simple grab-and-go” and is now “a grocery store model that allows our neighbors to select their food with dignity and choice.” It’s open from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday
- Jeff Frank, local farmer with Liberty Gardens, a vegetable garden right outside Bethlehem, said the $13 million Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreements program through the USDA was canceled during the summer. It was to connect underserved communities with food from local farms while supplying some supplemental income for fellow farmers, Frank said. “Almost every other farm of scale that I know was growing food for the program because we knew that we would get a decent return on our labor,” he said. “And labor is the limiting factor on the farm, every farm.”
- New Bethany Food Access Director Brandy Garofalo said homemade is made a priority for the kitchen, and staff can help people those in need to stay on track nutritionally. About 100 people come in every day for breakfast and lunch each day at New Bethany. “If you’re going to thrive and you’re going to take care of other things in your life, you need basic nutrition to do that,” Garofalo said.
- The former Episcopal Diocese headquarters building will expand housing and day services at New Bethany’s South Side campus by 6,000 square feet.
'Has got to be a call to action for us'
Officials said it’s time the community, and even up to the federal government, met its homeless neighbors with compassion in an ever-changing social, economic and political landscape.
“We are witnessing widespread acceptance of the criminalization of homelessness."New Bethany Executive Director Marc Rittle
“We are witnessing widespread acceptance of the criminalization of homelessness,” New Bethany Executive Director Marc Rittle said, looking over the years gone by.
“We were born in a time when our nation's working class was suffering from food and housing insecurity, and if not for the generosity of the Episcopal Church, [Bethlehem] Steel workers would have remained homeless and low-income families would have wondered where their next meal was coming from.”
Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, showing lots of love for New Bethany’s work, said, “These challenges are getting more and more acute, and this has got to be a call to action for us.”
Sharing their thanks for 40 years of community service also included: state Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton; state Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh; along with representatives from the offices of state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton; and U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley.
What’s next for social services in Bethlehem and the area?
Officials have said it’s addressing what’s next after Norfolk Southern railroad company recently requested city police assistance in “facilitating the removal” of an estimated 30 people living in tents along 22 acres of its property near the Lehigh River. Those on site have until Dec. 15 to leave.
