The Sauce That Saves And You Are Part Of The Story
In My Father’s Kitchen
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, 58, 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 327 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, twelve years ago. IMFK’s office at 501 Hawley Ave is not just the office for the organization, but also a place for the homeless people Tumino helps to clean up get fresh clothes, and get connected to services.
Leigh Ann (co-founder) serves alongside 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, 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.
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