GV Service Station pumps $9.2m into Kitchen of Love for 2025

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Hanover Kitchen of Love has received a $2.4-million boost from GV Service Station, which is spearheading an initiative to provide 400 hot meals per month to needy persons in the parish.

The latest donation brings to $9.2 million the amount of money that GV Service Station has donated to the Kitchen of Love from its 2025 quarterly promotion at its two service stations to generate funding for the project. The latest funds are for the last quarter of 2025.

Michelle Whittaker, a director at GV Service Station, told The Gleaner that the promotion, through which the funds were raised, was part of a commitment to donate one dollar from every full tank of petrol sold to motorists at their Lucea and Green Island locations.

She said the donation for the last quarter was delayed because of the various adjustments that had to be made in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which significantly impacted western Jamaica, causing a diversion to recovery efforts.

“They did not get the regular monthly transfer that we usually do because of the hurricane, and several other organisations were in the parish assisting in different areas, so we are doing it now,” explained Whittaker. “Our target was to donate $7 million per year, but for 2025, with this donation included, we have actually donated $9.2 million, which means we have surpassed our target.”

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She added: “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we are looking at a target of about $10 million for 2026, and the donations will be done quarterly.”

Whittaker said the directors of GV Service Station are pleased with the way the funds are being used, noting that this has allowed for the traditional bun and cheese to be served to recipients during Easter.

Reverend Sheldon Ashman, the chairman of the Hanover Ministers Fraternal, which operates Hanover Kitchen of Love, told The Gleaner that the organisation is grateful for the financial assistance.

“We began this project primarily as a soup kitchen in Lucea, but over time, it has developed into a full-blown kitchen, offering a hot meal every Tuesday to several hundred needy persons,” he said. “We feed roughly 400 persons every week, as well as on special days, and also in times of particular emergencies, like after Hurricane Melissa.”

He described the endeavour as a network of collaborative efforts, starting with volunteers who prepare the food, donors that assist with financing, and persons who deliver the meals, adding that they are looking at increasing the number of days that the hot meals are served.

“Words are not enough to express my personal gratitude to the GV Service Station operators for their generous offering towards the Kitchen of Love because it goes a far way in helping us to ensure that the operations continue,” Ashman said.

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