BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — A tradition begun seven years ago out of the kindness of one man’s heart continues to warm the hearts of many Long Branch residents.
Jerome “Chef” Turner, a retired military chef who now manages the civilian part of food service operations for the U.S. Military Army Academy Prep School at Fort Monmouth, wanted to do something for others.
“We had a friendship when I was at Fort Monmouth,” Avery Grant, a city resident, said about Turner.
“One year he said he wanted to do something special for Thanksgiving, but he didn’t know where to go. So, I said come to my church.”
For the past seven years, Turner and a group of volunteers have prepared a hot meal that is served on Thanksgiving Day to the Long Branch community at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 535 Broadway, Grant said.
“It feels great,” Turner said about giving to others. “We all want to find a way to make a difference, and this is a way for me to give thanks for all that I have gotten in my life.”
Volunteers at the church serve about 350 to 400 people at the holiday dinner, which will take place this year from noon to 2:30 p.m. The dinner is for the entire community and is not limited to feeding only the poor and the hungry, Grant said.
“We get members of the church who do not have a family or who just want to enjoy things and be around people,” he said.
The free meal is prepared in the mess hall at the prep school at Fort Monmouth with the help of about 25 to 30 volunteers, Turner said.
“We have a lot of volunteers from everywhere,” Turner said. “Some do not even know they are volunteering until Thanksgiving Day and they just show up to help.”
The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties on Route 66 in Neptune provides some of the food for Turner to prepare, Grant said.
The rest of the food is collected from individuals, Turner said.
“It is all about individuals coming together as a community,” he said.
Preparations for the big event start the day before the holiday, and the finishing touches are completed on Thanksgiving Day, Turner said.
He said he knows what it’s like to not have a hot meal on the holidays.
“I grew up on the bottom of the economy ladder with a lot of love,” he said. “I remember being in elementary school and my family would get a Thanksgiving basket from the school. We were so thankful.”
Turner said he thanks God for the skills he has and said the more someone has, the more that person should give.

