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It’s not unusual to see scruffy-looking people holding cardboard signs asking for help when driving around Syracuse. And few people take the time to hear the stories behind those cardboard messages. One person who does is John Tumino, 51, a chef and founder of In My Father’s Kitchen (IMFK), a nonprofit outreach program that helps homeless people in Syracuse.

“Food brings people to the table,” says Tumino. “No matter what culture you’re from or what country you’re from, everyone eats food. Food lets you communicate with your family and your friends. Food is a barrier breaker.”

Tumino uses food to break the barriers and help them restart their lives. Since 2011, he has helped 53 homeless people off the streets permanently, and today, he’s still helping through IMFK with growing numbers of supporters.

Tumino is the first generation of his family in the United States. His father moved from Italy to Argentina after World War II where he met his mother. The couple decided to emigrate in 1963 in hopes of better lives. Not knowing English or American culture did not stop them from working hard and took them to where they are now – the proud owners of Asti Caffe on North Salina Street. When Tumino was younger, he was often teased about the way his parents spoke. He grew up in a house where different languages flew around and different food was cooked and eaten. His friends would often come to try the unfamiliar meals.

After finishing his education at Fowler High School, Tumino took a job in the kitchen of a McDonald’s for a couple of years before moving on to work at a Chrysler factory. In 1987, his family opened Tumino’s Pizzeria, but by 1995 the family had sold the business and Tumino worked as a legal courier for five years. In 2002, his family started another Italian restaurant, Asti Caffe, where he worked as a chef. It was in that kitchen where it all began.

“In summer 2009, I was at the restaurant getting ready for the morning, during my prayer time, and I heard the words come into my heart ‘In my father’s kitchen,’” Tumino says. “It just felt in my heart that we would fill the belly of a man by serving food and clothing for people. I felt it was time to leave the restaurant. That was 18 months from hearing that calling until I stepped out of the family’s business.”

This was not the first time Tumino says he heard from Jesus. In his younger years, he says, he was a gambling and sex addict. It was when he was 28 years old that he had his first encounter with Jesus. He started his journey as a Christian and his faith in God delivered him from his past. One brother was a heroin addict; another brother sold drugs and went to prison. Both of their lives have since turned around due to their faith in God. From these experiences, Tumino learned that everyone has a story; everyone struggles. But there is also hope. “There’s always an opportunity to change,” Tumino says. “Will you take the opportunity, go where you’ve never gone, do what you’ve never done?”

He and his wife, Leigh Ann, are ordained ministers and once thought of becoming missionaries in Costa Rica. They each went to Costa Rica, on different trips, and a third time as a family, taking their daughter with them. They didn’t feel the click. When they got back to Syracuse they wondered what their next step would be. It was then, as they drove out of the Destiny USA mall on Bear Street, a homeless man holding a cardboard sign got Tumino’s attention. Tumino realized the car in front of them wasn’t paying attention; he looked at the car behind and they weren’t looking either. “I heard these words coming, ‘This guy feels he’s invisible and I want you to go and feed him,’ so I was like, wow,” Tumino says about how Jesus gave him a sign. He went to Wegman’s and bought a sandwich, a bag of chips, and something sweet to drink. He drove back to the homeless man.

“Hey man, my name is John, I have lunch here if you’d like it,” Tumino said, using food to break down the wall of invisibility. The man, known as Tim P., said, “Sure.” Tumino then said, “I want you to know that you’re not invisible, I see you standing there.” Tim froze and took a deep breath. He never expected that. Tim was the first person Tumino helped, five years ago. Since then he’s helped 2 more homeless people. IMFK’s office at 501 Hawley Street is not just the office for the organization, but also a place for the homeless people Tumino helps to clean up and get fresh clothes.

Leigh Ann volunteers with her husband. She says Tumino is the one who comes up with ideas. “He’s a visionary, I create it and put it together,” she says.

She was previously the children’s director at Abundant Life Christian Center for 15 years, writing curriculum, creating programs, training, and doing anything else that needed to be done. When Asti Caffe opened, Leigh Ann left her director position to help at the restaurant, with bookkeeping and office duties. Now she is Tumino’s right hand.

Today, as a full-time volunteer at IMFK, her life has been busier than ever – paperwork, creating newsletters, and such – while her husband recruits organizations to help homeless people. “I’m very proud of him and very proud to say that I’m his wife,” Leigh Ann says. “John never meets an enemy. Everyone’s his friend. I think I’m an introvert, he’s an extrovert. It wows me that he’s somebody who can make friends with everybody.”

It’s been over 15 months since Steven Clemens, 56, got sober, and it all started with a lunch. Clemens was one of the many homeless people to whom Tumino regularly brought food and clothes. But on one particular day Clemens had given up on life. Lying in his own feces, flies buzzing around him, he said to God, “This is it. Just take me or don’t. I’m done.” Minutes later, Tumino showed up and called the ambulance to rescue him. Clemens now regularly assists Tumino in his work.

Tumino never feels disgust or repulsion for the homeless people he encounters. The day Clemens was rescued, for instance, Tumino stood by him despite the strong odor that made even a male nurse almost throw up. Tumino listens to their stories, trying to connect them with people or organizations that can help. His family and the people he works with say he has always been a kind-hearted man, the one who understands, and the one who never judges.

In addition, Tumino has another close friend who went with him on his first outreach to the homeless in the streets of Syracuse. Duane Main, 54, an accountant manager at ABF Transportation, first met Tumino at a church. Nowadays, he considers Tumino a friend. “He’s an accountability partner of mine,” Main says. “He’s a gentleman I can trust, who I can go with to everyday situations or life situations. He’s got good godly wisdom.”

Today, IMFK sells pasta sauce, New Horizons coffee, and maple syrup to create awareness and finance the organization as it continues its mission. Tumino sees this as a marketplace where he physically can’t go. These products make their way to people’s kitchens, gifts for someone who could end up in another person’s cabinet. This is how IMFK spreads its word and reaches new supporters. From making and selling food, and offering a meal to cut through the invisibility, “we’re building hope and changing lives,” Tumino says.

What a year it has been with the opening of our new project Mission 124/7 Life House. We accepted our first resident into the home on November 1st and Leigh Ann and the team have hit the ground running. Our resident will be with us for a year as she learns the skills needed to re-enter a life free from sex trafficking. She was able to experience a great Thanksgiving with our team and the work started for her to be reconnected with her children. Because of your support we were able to purchase gifts for her kids for Christmas. Our resident was able to spend some time with her children for Christmas and she was able to give them presents this year. Can you say Christmas Miracle for Her! You are part of that miracle and we say thank you!

This year during street outreach we were able to assist over 30 friends with housing while serving well over 1000 meals in 2022!

The end of this year was tough losing 3 friends in the course of 13 days. We were able to do the services for the families as well as have our friends attend so they could say their goodbyes.

Our Hire Ground Program was able to have over 250 unduplicated riders participate in cleaning our community. That meant no panhandling for the day because of this many of our friends were connected to different services in the community. We were able to show them dignity through work and relationships. 

Your relationship with IMFK is crucial, after watching this video will you consider the best year-end gift and push us over the top going into 2023.

Thank you so much for your love and support and HAPPY NEW YEAR

John and Leigh Ann 

Corrin Stellakis Miss USA International stopped down to IMFK today to drop off care kits for the women we serve out on the streets as well as the women of our new Life House Mission 124/7 Project. Check out the video below and be encouraged by this power-packed woman of God as she shares why it is important to her to give back!

” Fit to Reign Women’s Health Operation drop off completed! ✅ I’m so grateful that God guided me to donate the personal care items and hygiene products collected during this operation to John from @inmyfatherskitchen Life House! I hope that these Fit to Reign kits help the women reset, restore, rebuild, and relaunch their lives! God is good!” 🙏🏼❤️

Corrin

#missinternational  #cheerallwomen #beautiesforsdgs  #60thMissInternational #missusi #missusinternational #fittoreign #fittoreignfam #fittoreignqueen #corrinstellakis #

Other than doing direct street outreach to our friends experiencing homelessness we at IMFK bring awareness to the community through media opportunities. Many folks have questions regarding homelessness and the work we do at IMFK and doing radio interviews is a great way to put out information. This past weekend we were interviewed by Tom and Steve from The Local Show on WSYR. Here is a link to that interview! Enjoy and thank you for your continued support 

John, Leigh Ann and the Team at IMFK

Welcome Home

In May of 1995 Leigh-Ann and I were newly married and moved into our home on the North Side of Syracuse. The experience of being new homeowners in the inner city of Syracuse brought a surprising realization that we were living in an area where human trafficking was occurring.

Over the last 27 years of living in a tough part of town, we knew that we had been planted here to see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears the suffering of the woman in our neighborhood.

Leigh-Ann and I have always had a heart for the women we saw on the street and wanted to serve them but never knew how or if we could. Little did we know, God had a plan that birthed In My Father’s Kitchen in 2011 serving the homeless of CNY.

We then expanded our programming in 2019 to assist panhandlers with our day labor program Hire Ground. Now in 2022, we are preparing to launch, Life House. Life House is a residential home for women who are escaping a life of human trafficking that has entangled them.

When we began serving those experiencing homelessness in 2011, we started seeing that many of the women had fallen into sex trafficking to survive the environment on the streets. We would see some of the women in our own neighborhood walking up and down the streets soliciting drivers or waiting for a pick-up. It was heartbreaking.

There were occasions Leigh-Ann would be waiting for me to pick her up for an appointment and while standing at the end of our own driveway cars would slow down thinking she was prostituting herself. In our neighborhood, watching the women solicit drivers is where the passion, vision, and dream began.

In 2016, God provided the first foundational piece to making this dream a reality. A house was gifted to IMFK and as soon as the house landed in our hands Leigh-Ann immediately knew we needed to create a home for women choosing to escape human trafficking.

Over the past 6 years, we have invested over $65,000 to renovate the house and make it a safe and welcoming home. We are excited to announce we will soon be opening our faith-based residential home, Life House.

This transforming program is for women who choose to escape human trafficking and the trauma that has entangled their lives. Life House offers 2 women a rent-free home to reside in with 24/7 staff to assist them as they reset, restore, rebuild, and relaunch into the community–experiencing the power, love, and freedom that can be found through Faith in God. The Life House staff will work toward helping these women learn to live and dream again.

We have had many of you ask, “How can we help?” We have 3 ways you can assist us in getting our program up and running:

· If you are a Person of Faith, Pray

a. We are currently in the interviewing process to hire our Resident Advocacy Team.

b. Life House requires people to pray for us and our residents daily. Pray for their breakthroughs and for the staff to have the clarity to help them in their journey to a new life.

· Become a Sponsor

a. All the pieces of this amazing program and the staff to support it

will be a large financial commitment for In My Father’s Kitchen. Please consider becoming a sponsor willing to invest in the lives of our residents.

· Sponsor a resident for 1 day: $90

· Sponsor a resident for 1 week: $630

· Sponsor a resident for one month: $2,700

· Sponsor a resident for one year: $33,000

· Purchase Items and Donate

a. In My Father’s Kitchen has created a Life House Wish List on amazon.com with items needed for our residents. All items purchased will be sent directly to In My Father’s Kitchen.

Please consider partnering with us online at www.inmyfatherskitchen.org or

Donate by mail, send your check or money order to PO Box 11328 Syracuse, NY 13218

Donations are tax-deductible – EIN# 45-2777205

Thank you in advance for your continued support of IMFK and its’ mission!

John and Leigh An Tumin0

Co-Founders