Vineland Soup Kitchen Names New CDO, Expands Board to Boost Capacity

Spirit & Truth Ministries Inc., the nonprofit operating the Vineland Soup Kitchen out of the basement of First United Methodist Church at the corner of 7th and Landis Avenues, announced the appointment of Chelsea Consalo as Chief Development Officer and welcomed Lori King to its board of directors. The moves, announced April 6, accompanied a broader board reorganization designed to shore up the organization's fundraising infrastructure and expand its capacity to feed Vineland's most vulnerable residents.

The scale of need the kitchen serves makes the leadership shift consequential. The organization recorded more than 58,000 meals served in 2024, averaging roughly 4,858 per month through a free weekday program offering hot breakfast from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and lunch from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. That volume, sustained over decades from a church basement, underscores why adding professional development capacity matters: even modest shortfalls in donations or staffing carry direct consequences for people depending on those daily meals.

As CDO, Consalo is expected to lead donor cultivation, coordinate grant applications, and strengthen volunteer recruitment, the three levers most critical to financial resilience for small food-service nonprofits operating on tight margins. Rising food costs have squeezed operations across the sector, and organizations at the Vineland Soup Kitchen's volume face that pressure acutely. A dedicated development officer gives Spirit & Truth Ministries a professional point of contact for institutional funders and community partners that many comparable kitchens lack.

King's addition to the board, alongside the broader reorganization, signals an intentional effort to diversify the kitchen's governing capacity rather than concentrate responsibility among a small group of long-term volunteers. The kitchen has publicly posted ongoing needs for servers and kitchen assistants, and the board restructuring is expected to improve coordination of that volunteer pipeline as well.

Beyond meals, the Vineland Soup Kitchen has provided periodic hygiene services including showers and health screenings, making it a connective point between food-insecure residents and broader social services. Strengthening the organization's fundraising base could support expansion of those wraparound programs alongside the core meal service.

For food banks, municipal agencies, and social-service providers operating across Cumberland County, the restructuring is a reminder that the region's safety-net infrastructure runs on the organizational health of small nonprofits. Residents interested in volunteering or donating can find contact information and service details at vinelandsoupkitchen.org.