BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Sister Caroline Tweedy didn’t tell anyone she was looking for a new career in late 2015. Her desire for change was something she kept to herself.
But out of the blue, an old friend, John Clarke, a law professor at St. John’s University, called and told her that St. John’s Bread & Life, the nonprofit that provides food and social service assistance to people in Bedford-Stuyvesant, was looking for a chief operating officer (COO).
“I remember him telling me, ‘You’d be great at this,’ ” she recalled.
At the time, she had been working at Mercy Home, a nonprofit assisting people with disabilities, for 28 years. She was the development director, a position that consisted of office work and fundraising. She longed to return to her roots as a young member of the Sisters of Mercy — helping people face-to-face.
So, when her old friend called, she took his advice. She aced the interview and got the job. Her first day was Feb. 2, 2016.
One of her first tasks as COO was to improve communication across departments to ensure everyone was on the same page. She then set about seeing how the organization could do more.
A point of pride for Sister Caroline is the level of trust she built with the staff — so much so that when the executive director retired in 2018, workers urged her to apply for the job. She did and was given the position.
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Looking back over 10 years, Sister Caroline has seen substantial changes at St. John’s Bread & Life. One of the biggest changes she has seen is the mission’s size and scope.
“When I came 10 years ago, we were a small, community-based organization primarily serving Bed-Stuy and the tip of Bushwick,” she said. “And in these 10 years, we have really grown.”
In 2016, St. John’s Bread & Life served 500-600 people a week. Now, it’s 11,000.
Of the clientele, 88% comes from Brooklyn, 9% comes from Queens, and the rest come from the Bronx and Staten Island.
The organization distributes boxed hot meals from its headquarters, operates an on-site food pantry where residents can select items to go, and dispatches food trucks to several neighborhoods.
In addition, it helps people complete applications for public assistance, Medicare, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other programs.
The bottom line is to meet the need, Sister Caroline said.
The food trucks, which serve as traveling soup kitchens, were a response to a need.
“It started as the result of folks calling us, saying they couldn’t get to us,” Sister Caroline explained. “But they really needed help.”
St. John’s Bread & Life received a grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to help set up the mobile soup kitchen program. “And they’ve been spectacular in terms of helping us expand our reach into other parts of Brooklyn and Queens,” Sister Caroline said.
Under Sister Caroline’s direction, St. John’s Bread & Life created a grab-and-go option at its headquarters, which is still offered today. The organization installed windows in its warehouse where people can walk up to pick up a hot meal.
“One of the good things is that we get to choose who we serve. It’s not government-based,” she said, explaining that the organization doesn’t have to follow federal guidelines because they are working with grant money, not government funding.
Speaking of government funding, it’s hard to come by, Sister Caroline said. That’s another substantial change she has seen over the past decade.
St. John’s Bread & Life went from receiving approximately $1.2 million a year in government funding to $500,000 — a 50% cut.
“In terms of numbers, funding has gone down significantly. Government funding is always erratic at best,” she said, noting that it varies between presidential administrations.
Still, Sister Caroline is hopeful for the future.
“My thought is that you always want to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the community,” she said, “and nimble enough to change and take risks.”