On a recent visit to the Good Neighbor Settlement House near downtown Brownsville, the aroma of baked chicken filled the kitchen area.
The kitchen staff at Good Neighbor was preparing a lunch of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and asparagus for those in need of a meal.
The breakfasts, lunches and dinners at the non-profit agency will soon be made in a larger kitchen thanks to a $200,000 grant from the Musk Foundation, an additional grant from the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation and money from other anonymous donors.
Good Neighbor is currently undergoing a much needed renovation, which includes not only a larger kitchen, but a bigger dining area, pantry and a clinic, said Hugo Zurita, executive director on the non-profit.
Zurita could not contain his excitement as he talked about the renovations happening at the Good Neighbor.
“With all the painting going on it makes things look a light brighter and bigger,” he said.
Although the non-profit received some of the grant money last year, the COVD-19 pandemic caused the price of the materials needed for the renovation to increase tremendously.
“It almost tripled the price of what it was going to cost us originally to do the project. The cost of lumber, materials, a lot of contractors not getting a lot of business and trying to make up the money they lost,” he said.
The project’s estimated cost is $400,000. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year or in January.
In July, the Musk Foundation approached Good Neighbor and asked what the non-profit needed. Zurita said he told them they wanted to be able to finish the renovation project. The person who approached Good Neighbor had worked at a soup kitchen and was passionate about helping the Brownsville non-profit.
The project was only supposed to be for the dining hall and clinic. It will now include a clinic, a closet that will provide shampoos, soaps and clothing for both men and women the Good Neighbor helps out.
The new dinning hall will be able to seat about 100 people as opposed the original seating limit of 48 individuals. Zurita said before COVID-19 people were allowed to eat in the dining room so each person was allowed a few minutes to eat since there were long lines of people waiting to be fed.
“Pre-COVID we would have long lines. … By having a bigger space we will be able to serve more individuals at once so we are not waiting outside in a long line,” he said.
Although renovations are going on at Good Neighbor, staff is finding ways to continue to provide clients with free meals and other services they may need.
“We cannot stop our operations. The community needs us a lot so there is no way for us to stop operations when construction happens,” Zurita said. All construction is being done by a local company.
The Good Neighbor is the only soup kitchen in Brownsville. The soup kitchen is open to everyone. No questions are asked, including a person’s name.
The Good Neighbor’s dinner program known as La Posada is run strictly by donations and by volunteers and donors. Employees of St. Joseph Academy, the Brownsville Independent School District, the Zonta club and Catholic churches help out with La Posada cooking meals for the clients. Restaurants such as Dominoes Pizza, the Branding Iron and others provide dinners for the program.
“The soup kitchen is the heart of our organization and that is what we are known for. The homeless population has increased a lot during COVID, our numbers have doubled. … It is needed here so we are really grateful that we were given the opportunity to get this project started to finish it,”Zurita said.
Since Good Neighbor is run by donations, donations are greatly appreciated.
“We are still looking for donations, that is how we operate and anybody from the community who wants to give anything, anything helps,” he said.
