On October 24, 2007, Bernadette A. Shanahan and Milford Liss graciously gave me a tour and then met with me at the Marjorie and Lewis Katz Clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Club of Camden County (address above).

The purpose of the trip was to see if their facility was an appropriate match for our cooking and food donation services now that Leavenhouse has closed their soup kitchen.

In case I have erred in any of the details in this report, Bernadette is copied so she can correct me.

Here are my observations:

Bernadette A. Shanahan and Milford Liss

The BGCCC is a beautiful building of recent construction (1991).  It is located on Temple Beth El's original site in Camden.  (Lewis Katz is the son of Betty & Milton Katz, benefactors of Cherry Hill's JCC.)

While much smaller than our own JCC, the BGCCC has some similar facilities.  The following narrative tries to explain the very different way the BGCCC is used as compared to our JCC.

From three to six PM every weekday, the facility is open to approximately 200 children ages 6 through 12 who come directly from school.

When they arrive, the staff and children work only on homework from 3 to 4 PM.

One place they work on homework is this bank of five computers that are not hooked up to the web, but do have a shared printer.  These computers are for using productivity tools and printing out homework.

Another place the children gather to do homework is this library

There is another room with many computers that are hooked up to the internet.  All of these computers have filtering software and an adult is always present to insure they are being used only for proper purposes.

After homework, the children gather in this break room where they are served juice and a small nutritious snack such as a granola bar.

With snack time over, there are multiple areas where the children can safely play.

Their main lobby connects to a large recreational area similar to our own teen lounge.

There is an indoor pool and a basketball court. (My pictures of those areas did not come out.  Both are beautiful and well maintained.)

At 6:00 PM, the facility is closed and the 6 to 12 year-olds are sent home.

At 6:30 PM, the facility reopens for approximately 100 children ages 13 through 18.  (There is not enough room to host both sets of children at the same time and so when one age group is present, the other must leave.)

The focus for this age group is both school support and employment training.  Those children who complete requisite activities are temporarily hired on the BGCCC staff.  (There are currently about 35 who are at this status.)  Once on the staff, they are building their resume and are eventually helped to transition to the outside job market.

A recent program evaluation was undertaken by the Boys & Girls Clubs to gather detailed information about the strengths and weaknesses of various programs.

Some notable results are:

- The average grades of those who participated in our tutoring program improved in every subject area during the 1997 academic year.

- 95% of youth participating in computer classes demonstrated an increase in knowledge, and more than 50% used the Clubs' computers for homework assignments.

- 90% of parents surveyed reported that the Clubs have helped keep their children off drugs.

- 100% of members participating in our Gang Prevention Program were not involved in gang activity.

Bernadette Shanahan and Milford Liss discussed their vision as to how they might use our service.

They foresaw six times a year when they might hold a "family night."  On each of these evenings, they would maintain a sign-up sheet where children in the GBCCC program could register their parents and siblings.  A maximum of 200 people would attend. 

That is our first cue with regard to budget.  200 meals times 6 events a year equals 1,200 meals a year.  In total, this is slightly less than then number of meals we are used to delivering, but gives us an opportunity to increase the nutrition and variety of what we are serving.

The two immediate dates that would work for them are Tuesday, November 22nd [editor: the 22nd did not work out,] 13th for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner and date  scheduled is Tuesday, December 11th for a pre-Christmas dinner.

Suggested:

Tuesday, December 11th

BGCCC Pre-Christmas dinner.

On those nights, they would set up tables in the basketball court area for a banquet.

BGCCC has a small, but serviceable kitchen.

There are three refrigerators.  (One may be a freezer?)

There is a double oven and a microwave.

There are also two large kitchen counters.

An important note is that the kitchen at the BGCCC is NOT certified by the health department as a "commercial" kitchen.

There counters are not stainless, there is no dishwasher, and they lack the multiple-stainless tub sinks required of commercial  kitchens.

As a result of these deficiencies, the health department has placed some restrictions on how food is to be prepared and served at this facility.

These requirements are strictly adhered to by the BGCCC and M'kor Shalom will need to be conscious of them if we are to successfully serve them.

All of the following observations were made by the BGCCC staff and I will need to confirm and clarify them with the noted authority:

First, our own kitchen must be recognized by the Camden County Division of Environmental Health as "commercial grade."  Today, I placed a call to Chris A. Naddeo of the health department (856.374.6052) to discuss this matter.  If our kitchen is NOT properly classified, then we may need to find a different recipient (other than BGCCC,) for our service.

Second, the way in which we transport our food to the BGCCC must meet the approval of the same department.  I will discuss this as well.

Third, once the food containers sent to the BGCCC have been used, they may not be re-used.  I will find out from the county if this applies even if we re-wash them in our own kitchen.

Fourth, all utensils used to serve food at the BGCCC must be disposed after the first use.

Obviously, we need guidance from the health department to understand the exact rules to avoid the BGCCC being cited or shut down by the health department.  I will report my conversations with Chris Naddeo.

NOTE: 

M'kor cooking team would cook Monday November 12th and Monday December 10th, with delivery on the following day.