The line begins to form an hour before the Caring Kitchen opens for lunch. Caring Kitchen feeds the homeless in Delray Beach.

Hit hard from the recession, lifelong Delray Beach resident Leroy Johnson has called his daytime home the wooden bench in front of the city library or sometimes a concrete slab at Old School Square that’s in the shade and out of the summer heat. Johnson said the only real meaning in his day is a weekday trip to the Caring Kitchen at 196 NW Eighth Ave. where Johnson can get a hot meal, clothing and even a loaf of bread.
“The city should be focusing on a homeless shelter. I’ve lived here all my life and fell on tough times. No one will even talk to me about a job,” he said.
But for the time being it’s volunteers like Juan Francisco Paco helping Johnson with bread, and Caring Kitchen program coordinator April Hazamy providing a place for Johnson to rest his feet.
“We’re serving about 240 lunches on average per weekday. Last year we served an average of about 170. We’re doing about 30 breakfasts a day. We feel this is the best way to help out with recession relief deep in the community that needs it most,” Hazamy says.
She also says that more homeless and hard luck individuals are coming from Boynton Beach and Boca Raton.
“New faces everyday… We feel we’re blessed every day and this is a path we choose by helping the needy through these tough times,” Hazamy said.
Read more about this story in the special Recession Relief issue of the Delray Forum July 29.
For more information on the Caring Kitchen call 561-278-0918 or call C.R.O.S. Ministries at 561-233-9009.