Dunnings have a ‘Soouper’ day
Dale Dunning jumped with glee and spun around in circles when the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” bus moved to reveal the Jusst Sooup Ranch for the first time.
It took several minutes for her to settle down and speak with Ty Pennington, the star of the ABC television show. She, accompanied by husband Ken and son Brooks, then went on a tour of their new home.
Dunning thought the large yellow kitchen was her home. Little did she realize that behind the soup kitchen was a home for the couple and one for their son, as well as a courtyard, outdoor pavilion and garden – in all about 7,000 square feet of buildings completed in one week.
“They tricked me,” she said during a press conference the next morning. For a lady who is seldom at a loss for words, she couldn’t find the right ones to express her gratitude to all of the people who made her dream a reality. “I can’t fathom how the community has given back to us in such a mega-mega way,” she said.
Dunning had been operating her soup kitchen out of her own home for the past 12 years with limited space requiring her to wake up around 1:15 a.m. to start cooking soup to transport to a network of soup kitchens in Sussex County.
Her new commercial kitchen will save her time – and allow her to get more sleep. “All the things my little soupers want are here,” she said. That’s the name she uses for the people she serves.
The wait for the Dunnings’ homecoming was worth it. Hundreds of family, friends and volunteers stood in the hot late August sun for two hours. She was greeted with a thundering ovation when she walked off the large Extreme Makeover bus.
Project builders Schell Brothers nominated Dunning for the Extreme Makeover show after giving her a donation of six acres of land off Route 9 and Coolspring Road.
The 199th Extreme Makeover build is one for the books. The work of volunteers and crew came to halt as Hurricane Irene threatened and an evacuation of coastal areas was ordered. Schell Brothers President Chris Schell said the hurricane cut one-half day off the work schedule and forced the reveal back two days. “We were a little ahead of schedule and we accelerated work because of the storm,” he said.
All work stopped at midnight Aug. 26 and didn’t resume until the morning of Aug. 29. It was hard getting back on track because work was scheduled in 15-minute increments, Schell said.
Helping to cover the costs
In order to reach the goal of $300,000 for an endowment to keep the ministry secure, Schell Brothers has donated an additional $55,000 – for a total of $75,000.
“Dale is worth it, “ Schell said. “We don’t want her to pay high bills; we want to make this work for her.”
U.S. Foods Service donated most of the equipment for the commercial kitchen as well as $120,000 worth of food to stock the Jusst Sooup pantry and walk-in freezer, Schell said. More than 2,000 volunteers and hundreds of skilled workers volunteered time from the moment the build started Aug. 22 to when it was completed Aug. 30. Crews worked around the clock. In addition, more than 100 companies donated materials and labor to complete the project.
Schell said because the complex is zoned residential, no commercial activities are allowed on the property. It’s not a homeless shelter either. Food can be prepared in the soup kitchen but it can’t be served there, at least for now. Schell said he would help the Dunnings apply for a conditional use to be able to expand her ministry.
Schell said Dunning would not change her routine of preparing food and taking it to sites throughout the county. She will just have much more space, better equipment and better surroundings to do it in.
Ken, who has operated a lawn care business for years, was given a new Kubota riding lawnmower with trailer. It’s a good thing because he now has six acres of grass to cut and landscaping to maintain. “I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about cutting all this grass,” he said.
The Dunnings are supposed to keep quiet about the interior design of the buildings and where they were during the build until after the show. The show is scheduled to air as a two-hour Thanksgiving special Friday, Nov. 18, on ABC.
“This is truly Thanksgiving,” Dunning said. “It doesn’t have to be November because we are giving thanks.”
