BRIDGETON – Anne Budde took a struggling enterprise, The Good Shepherd Dining Room at St. Teresa of Avila Parish, and turned it around while caring for the needs of the guests who come each day for lunch.
“She is a kind person,” said Father Michael Spagnolo, pastor of St. Teresa, “and treats each of our guests with dignity as a steward of God. Anne is tremendous and makes good use of our kitchen staff. We’ve allowed her to be a more hands-on person and she is succeeding. She’s taken a business that was in the red and put it in the black.”
This is not surprising since Anne’s background is as an administrator in the health care field. Her leadership skills were honed as a vice president at the Bridgeton location of the South Jersey Health System. She’s also been volunteering at The Good Shepherd for 25 years and, in addition, is the volunteer treasurer at the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
She takes the stewardship philosophy seriously with her volunteer time at both organizations and using her administrative talents shepherding the kitchen and overseeing the finances at St. Vincent de Paul. And when treasures are needed, goodwill bags are passed around at the kitchen among the staff, which helps to pay for some new culinary equipment.
“The Good Shepherd was losing its paid cooks when I took over as director,” she explained. “When I stepped in I was able to recruit volunteers and new paid help who are very good cooks.” And volunteers come from all walks of life and from the Catholic and Protestant communities.
She had been recruited to run the kitchen by St. Teresa pastor Father Michael Signiski, who had died in January of a heart attack, and the two of them together, before he passed, had begun turning The Good Shepherd Dining Room around.
“When I found out the kitchen was losing experienced people,” Budde said, “I went to Father Mike to ask what to do. He said let’s pray.”
Letters were then sent to all local churches and to St. Vincent de Paul conferences asking for any kind of help, including volunteers.
“We received wonderful responses in the spirit of stewardship,” Budde noted. “There were prayers and finances were sent and volunteers came” even from the Quakers, the Lutherans, the Methodists, the Presbyterians.
“One lady volunteered one day every other week,” said Anne. “We wound up with 30 volunteers. They serve meals and wrap plasticware. We don’t have any commercial dishwasher, so everything is disposable. And we also have full-time cooks who also do the ordering.”
Budde said the response from Methodist and Presbyterian youth groups “was wonderful.”
“I had one young lady from high school who came over two or three days a week last summer,” she recounted. “Now she’s doing community service projects.”
Before Thanksgiving, The Good Shepherd received 150 shoeboxes from Holy Family in Sewell out of their stewardship program to be given out to the needy at Christmas. The shoeboxes were filled with personal and toiletry products.
Deacon Bill Johnson said that Budde is an asset to the kitchen and to the parish. Spiritual advisor for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, he said that there is an outpouring of love from everyone who comes in contact with Budde and the kitchen, including from the Protestant churches, who appreciate what St. Teresa is doing for the poor.
“As a former administrator, she is using her skills to pull everything together,” he noted, “and it’s working out.”
Anne said the kitchen received a grant in the second quarter from the Tri-County Action Partnership to continue its work.
The soup kitchen is open five days a week for lunch. Father Spagnolo, who’s been pastor since Feb. 27, 2006, said the lunch that’s served is a full meal, a dinner really, complete with entrée, side dishes, dessert and a drink.
“For most it’s probably the best meal they’ll have all day,” he said. “Many guests will come in to get food for their families to bring home. Our objective is to provide a balanced, nourishing meal,” because, he noted, the poor often don’t spend their food money wisely.
And who does The Good Shepherd Dining Room serve?
“The homeless, transient migrant workers, some with drug problems. A few of our guests live in the grave yard across the street,” Father Spagnolo added quietly.
For more information on stewardship contact Russell Davis, Office of Stewardship, at 856-583-6102.