Wilmington Soup Kitchen Robbed Repeatedly; Vagrant Is One Suspect

St. Joseph’s Table, a Wilmington charity that feeds homeless people and distributes free groceries to the poor, has been stung by a string of three burglaries in the past three weeks.

More than $2,500 worth of food, cooking supplies and office equipment--including a typewriter--were taken during the first two break-ins, both of which occurred last month. The soup kitchen has not yet tallied its losses from the third burglary, which occurred last weekend.

“We’re very puzzled by it because we’ve never had this type of problem before,” said Lupe Macker, regional director for Catholic Charities in Long Beach, which runs St. Joseph’s Table.

Los Angeles police, meanwhile, have arrested a suspect in the most recent break-in--a homeless man authorities said lives in a makeshift plywood shanty outside a local bar. Tipsters reported he had been selling pots and pans that belonged to the soup kitchen.

The suspect, Kenneth Hanshaw, 39, now faces a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property. He was arrested Monday morning after Sgt. Gary Twiford of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division was tipped off to his whereabouts.

Twiford said he discovered Hanshaw behind the Foc’sle Cafe at the corner of D Street and Avalon Boulevard, not far from St. Joseph’s Table at 440 N. Avalon Blvd. Police seized canned food and crackers but found no pots or pans.

Harbor Division detectives said they are investigating whether Hanshaw was involved in the other burglaries, which occurred between Nov. 15 and 18; and between Nov. 23 and 27.

The burglaries have come at a time when St. Joseph’s Table is reassessing its mission in Wilmington.

The 4-year-old soup kitchen had been serving noon lunches daily, except Sundays, until its director left in September. At that time, Macker said, officials at Catholic Charities decided to scale back the operations of St. Joseph’s Table to include only the Saturday noon meal and a food pantry service on Wednesdays.

Macker said Catholic Charities intends to continue its work in Wilmington but is trying to determine whether food programs are the best use of its resources.

She said other local agencies also provide food for the homeless, and Catholic Charities is considering offering other services--such as counseling and parenting classes--at St. Joseph’s Table. The organization expects to make a decision in January.

In the meantime, Macker said, the soup kitchen is trying to replace what was lost during the burglaries and repair damage caused by the thieves, who kicked in doors to obtain access to locked storage rooms where food and supplies are kept.

Macker said she doesn’t believe the burglaries were committed by someone who frequents St. Joseph’s Table: “The people who come here, I would say the majority of them rely on getting a meal, and they conduct themselves in a way that says, ‘We’re thankful that we have this meal.’ ”