It looked like it was about to rain, but Ana Diaz still walked from North Bergen to Holy Redeemer Parish’s food bank in the next town over with her folding shopping cart in tow.
She had been making these trips to the Catholic church in West New York even before the coronavirus hit New Jersey in March. But in the last few months, as unemployment numbers steadily rise, the lines at the pantry started getting longer.
“My daughter stays home with three kids,” said Diaz as she waited on a line that stretched four blocks. “When the children are home, they eat more.”
The line for the food pantry at Holy Redeemer Parish in West New York stretched four blocks on June 27, 2020. The food bank's director said at least 300 people would show up each week before the pandemic. Now, more than a thousand line up.Rebecca Panico | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The church on 65th Street got a little extra boost last weekend to feed those in need from a self-proclaimed Thanksgiving fanatic. Robert Solomon brought Thanksgiving meals to those who stopped by on a holiday he invented: Summersgiving.
“It’s my favorite holiday because there are no gifts involved,” said Solomon, who lives in Norwood. “It’s just food and I’m a foodie. Thanksgiving just makes me remember the dishes my grandmother made when I was a kid. Just the smells bring me back my childhood. So I’ve just always loved Thanksgiving.”
He donated about 650 Thanksgiving-themed meals that were cooked by staff at El Unico de Elena restaurant. He paid for the meals out of pocket, but also set up an online fundraiser in case anyone wanted to donate to the cause.
Solomon has been hosting private get-togethers with his friends at home each summer to cook Thanksgiving meals - because celebrating the day just once a year wasn’t enough for him. In 2019, he decided to fill out paperwork to register the holiday on the National Day Calendar for the first Saturday of the summer solstice, which fell on June 27 this year.
The National Day Calendar lists holidays for all types of funky ideas, from Meteor Watch Day to National Eat Your Beans Day. The organization gets thousands of applications each year and picks just a small fraction for its calendar, Solomon was told.
Robert Solomon, an attorney based in Newark, paid for a majority of the 650 Thanksgiving dinners distributed at a West New York food pantry on Summersgiving. He invented and registered the holiday himself.Rebecca Panico | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
When Solomon isn’t being a turkey fanatic he practices personal injury and medical malpractice law in Newark. He decided to help out in West New York since he used to reside here and a good friend who worked with the parish’s food bank suggested working together.
This marks the second year since the holiday has been registered, but it was the first time Solomon hosted the party at a food bank. For the last decade, he’s hosted Summersgiving in his backyard.
The extra help has taken on new meaning this year as long lines at food banks mirror the Depression-era. And the virus hit close to home for Solomon. He, his wife and daughter all became ill with the coronavirus, and luckily all got better without being hospitalized.
“It’s been a really, really tough year for us, 2020,” Solomon said. “So I was like, ‘I’ve got to do something more.' People have things far worse than what I’ve gone through this year.”
Juan Pena, the director of the food pantry, said pre-pandemic there were between 300 and 360 people coming to the food bank on a weekly basis. Now, there are more than a thousand, he said.
“I believe it is because of the (coronavirus),” Pena said through his N-95 mask. “They were not expecting this today. That was a surprise for them. But this is the regular, normal people who come every Saturday since the COVID-19 started.”
Holy Redeemer Parish in West New York opens its food pantry every Saturday.Rebecca Panico | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Carlo Fortunio, the pastor at Holy Redeemer Parish, looked up at the sky and joked that God kept the rain at bay for the hundreds who lined up to stock their carts with fresh vegetables and canned food.
“It’s not just for the food, but so the people don’t feel abandoned, don’t feel longing in this situation,” said Fortunio, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 for a week. “Many of them are out of work.”
The church has become a hub of social services, even more so during the pandemic. Not only is the church feeding more people, they’re also working to get computers donated to families in case online classes continue in the fall. Psychologists from Felician University also provide therapy.
Some of the people who come to the food bank, Fortunio noted, may be undocumented and aren’t able to collect unemployment or a stimulus check, either. But despite the hardships they’re facing, the pastor said, parents who usually work two jobs are now reconnecting with their children and loved ones.
“In everything, there is - if we want to see - there is a blessing,” he said.
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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.
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The Link LonkJuly 05, 2020 at 11:37PM
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Thanksgiving fanatic creates summer version of holiday, spreads the love to 650 families - NJ.com
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