Old soldiers never die, they just fade away”. Bro. Joseph Nu’uanu who passed away last January 2013 will not quickly die from our memories. He was proud of his Hawaiian heritage always wearing some form of a lei whenever he can. He had received many leis in his lifetime – beautiful leis, intricate leis, simple leis. And he gave away many leis himself. Such was Bro. Joe. He received much and so he gave away much. He was a Renaissance Man – a beloved teacher, a trusted counselor, an artist, soup kitchen director, Hawaiian dancer and many more. Most of all, he was a friend of the poor. He spent the prime of his life working at Emer-gency Housing Consortium and Martha’s Kitchen. We will miss him!

In the News

Second Harvest Food Bank recognized its strong partnership with Martha’s Kitchen in its 2011 Annual Report. Almost 50% of the food we serve comes from the Food Bank. We would be hard pressed to keep our doors open without this kind of partnership.

Martha’s Kitchen on CBS Radio and
Sixty Minutes

Martha’s Kitchen – PM Serving

Would you consider us in your will?

Serving the hungry, since 1981.

It is hard to believe that Martha’s Kitchen will be celebrating its 32nd anniversary in 2013. If we were to paraphrase one poet we would say  ’30 years is a weekend to an oak tree.’  It certainly does not seem that long. How things have changed in 30 years!  Our crowd is so much tamer.  There used to be fights that had to be broken up. Now, families come here because we provide a family atmosphere.  Looking back at old photos bring a feeling of nostalgia to our old-timers.

The renovation and expansion of our facility gives us the capacity to prepare over 210,000 meals a year.  The sunroofs in the kitchen provide plenty of lighting making our place so much brighter and more welcoming. Come and visit us.

• Martha’s Kitchen, San Jose
• Advent Lutheran Church, Morgan Hill
• Antioch Baptist Church, San Jose
• Bill Wilson Center, San Jose
• Dos Palos Youth in Crisis, Merced County
• First Christian Church, San Jose
• Goodwill, San Jose
• Health Trust Living Center, San Jose
• Sacred Heart Nativity Schools, San Jose
• Project Hope, San Jose
• Sacred Heart Community Service, San Jose
• Salvation Army, San Jose and Gilroy
• Santa Maria Urban Ministry, San Jose
• St. Joseph Day Worker Center, San Jose
• True Vine Baptist Church, San Jose
• USO, San Jose (when soldiers come through)
• St. Joseph Cathedral Downtown Homeless Ministry, San Jose

How Does Martha’s Kitchen Help the Central Valley?
Martha’s Kitchen is 97 miles from South Dos Palos in Merced County. Yet we play a key role in ensuring that families who are worst hit by the economy and California’s 3-year drought are provided for. Dos Palos Youth in Crisis and Food Pantry, one of the few organizations providing food to the needy in the area, takes the long hard trek (3 hours in their recycled  truck) to Martha’s Kitchen once a week. The reason? 1,500 people waiting for food. The organization serves lunch daily except Wednesday to about 65 people, dinner every other Friday to about 150; and gives away bags of groceries to 1,500 people each week. Unemployment is at over 40%. The area is a virtual dust bowl. Your support indeed reaches far and wide!

Signs crop up along Central Valley such as the sign at left. While the problem is highly debated, still some fear a return to the 1930’s economic collapse in the reqion. Right photo: Kathy Fowler and sister Phyllis, founders of the Dos Palos Youth in Crisis and Food Pantry are shown with volunteer Roger Eckstrom as they pick up 6 tons of food. They borrow any usable vehicle when their recycled truck breaks down.

We Are Collecting Toiletries
Martha’s Kitchen volunteers are busy putting together packages of toiletries to give away this Winter. Still needed are razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, knitted hats, dental floss, Q-tips, combs, scarves and  gloves. Drysocks are especially important for the homeless. They are on their feet all day, and their socks become damp from natural sweating and sometimes due to the winter weather. You know how it feels to be wearing dirty, damp socks at the end of a long hard day. But you also know you will have clean socks the next day. It is a luxury for street folks to have clean dry socks.

Volunteer Spotlight: Willian Boyrer, President
William “Bill” Boyrer has been a volunteer at Martha’s Kitchen since his retirement in the early 80′s from the Retail industry where he spent 40 years in sales. He has been a gleaner picking up produce and bakery products from supermarkets for 25 years. He started gleaning for Martha’s Kitchen after he saw how much food was being thrown away from a nearby supermarket. In 1989, he became a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Boyrer is serving as President of the Board and will step down after two consecutive 2-year terms at the end of the year. He has also been a very active volunteer for several organizations such as Sacred Heart Community Services, Ascent Volunteer Employment Service and for the Christian Children’s Fund. Since 1978 his family has sponsored 17 children from 5 different countries. A  few have them have gone on to become a missionary, others as citizens of the U.S.and contributing members of the community.

Roger Eckstrom, Soupman

For twenty-eight years, Martha’s Kitchen has been serving meals to those in need with dignity, a kind word and a smile. No one is ever turned away. Brother Joseph Nu’uanu, our retired Executive Director, used to say, “We are just a ‘mom and pop’ operation,” back when we prepared thirty thousand meals a year. We now prepare two hundred thousand meals a year, but Martha’s Kitchen still has that “mom and pop” feel. The secret is the cheerful attitude of all the dedicated volunteers who give their time year after year. Martha’s Kitchen is proof that God is alive and well in our community. I feel privileged to have been a part of this wonderful organiz ation for twenty years.

Sacred Heart Church, Sagrado Corazon

Sacred Heart Church is the birthplace of three major non-profit organizations that have served San Jose for a total of over sixty-seven years. Sacred Heart Community Service was founded by Louise Benson when she moved her ministry from her garage to the parish grounds with the blessing of its then Pastor, Fr. John Coleman. She started Martha’s Kitchen sometime later with the help of five friends. Both organizations have served hundreds of thousands of people in the community.

In 2001, Fr. Mateo Sheedy’s dream of a first rate school for low-income children in the community was realized. We hereby recognize Sacred Heart Church for these achievements which are unprecedented in the history of any diocese.