By Glenn Rolfe

MILTON — On Aug. 28, 2011, the Rev. Dale Dunning and her family were in the spotlight.

ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was on-site at their property. And a small army of family, friends, supporters and volunteers waited anxiously to scream, “Move that bus,” to unveil a new home for the Dunnings and the Jusst Sooup Ranch, the base for what would become a growing kitchen ministry.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘Lord, how great you are.’ I can remember when they said, ‘Move that bus,’ and I saw this, and I danced all over,” said the Rev. Dunning on Saturday during a 10-year anniversary celebration of the unveiling. “I never even imagined anything like this. I want to say to all of you, when God calls you to do a special task, you do what he calls you to do.”

A decade after the show visited, the soup kitchen, operating as a ministry and church, still serves those in need with nutritious nourishment for the belly and spiritual nourishment for the soul.

“I said to my wife, ‘The Lord has been letting you feed the people for all these years. Now, he wants you to feed them in the spirit, too,’” said Ken Dunning, the Rev. Dunning’s husband of 50 years.

And now, there are plans to augment Jusst Sooup Ministry with an educational component.

“That was something I wanted to do a couple years ago, but then COVID came along, and we couldn’t do it. We had 24 people that couldn’t read or write, and they wanted to be part of this class,” the Rev. Dunning said. “There are some people that can’t read at all; they don’t even know the alphabet. They can’t even write their names. I want them to know there is no shame. We are not here to judge you. Even though I have graduated from high school, there are still things I can learn. We are all still learning.”

The permitting process is underway, money is in hand, and plans are in motion to have a modular unit — currently located near Lincoln and formerly used for a Christian school — moved to the Jusst Sooup property, south of Milton at Del. 404 and Cool Spring Road.
“I believe by the end of October, … we may have that here,” said the Rev. Dunning. “It’s another level to Jusst Sooup Ministry.”

Leslie Schell, one of Jusst Sooup’s volunteers, said education is in need.

“The Rev. Dale had a seed that got put in her heart and has grown to have a school,” she said. “We have so many people here, not just our soupers, but people in the area who cannot read or write.”

The plan is to teach people “so that they could function on a level where, even when they go to the store, they know that they are getting the right change back and they are not being cheated,” said Ms. Schell.

Over more than two decades, the Rev. Dunning started 21 soup kitchens, stretching from the Bethany Beach area to Wilmington. The service began with a hot plate, expanded to Crock-Pots and, for the last seven years, has been at Jusst Sooup Ministry’s facility in Milton.

“We see quite a few people. I would say that on Thursday, we feed about 100 people. There is a lot who get food to take out to family and those who don’t have transportation,” said the Rev. Dunning.

“Before, we could help just a handful of people,” said Mr. Dunning. “Now, we can help a bunch of people.”

Thursdays aren’t the only day those in need are served. There are other times, the Rev. Dunning said, when she has fed “quite a few people” by 6 in the morning.

Precaution during the pandemic has put a twist in the soup kitchen operation.

“Things have changed a little bit. You have to be very careful. People cannot come in and dine. They have to do carryout,” said the Rev. Dunning. “But it is really going well. People are donating clothing, … canned goods. I have a wonderful team. I lost some (volunteers) because of COVID, those that were 70 and over. But I have had new people come in to fill those slots.”

One is Ms. Schell, who survived a major heart attack — and by chance, united with the ministry back in January.

“I had been praying that God could show me where I could really give back and move his kingdom forward,” said Ms. Schell, who had located to Angola Beach Estates, near Lewes, from Baltimore. “My heart attack was at age 62, and I had 99% blockage and, by all accounts, should not have lived. I knew that God had more for me to do.”

One day, she was shopping in Rehoboth Beach and saw the Jusst Sooup van. “I took note, and thought, ‘A soup kitchen, … and it’s a ministry.’ I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to get my bundles in my truck, and I’m going to go talk to them,” Ms. Schell said. “I turned around, and the van was gone. A week later, I passed the same van on the road. I thought, ‘OK, God, you’re talking to me.’”

She contacted the Dunnings and became part of the team, volunteering on Thursdays and “whenever else needed.”

“I have just loved it. It is such a wonderful ministry. They are helping people who not only come here and get some soup and some sandwiches, but they also get love, peace and joy. They are always welcomed with a great big smile,” said Ms. Schell. “And when they leave, we always smile at them and give them words for the following week to fill their heart up.”

The Rev. Dunning agreed, adding, “Everyone deserves to be loved.”

Since the ABC crew left, a small chapel was added to the site, built almost entirely by the couple.

A newer addition is a recreational vehicle, donated by a Jusst Sooup supporter who passed away. The Rev. Dunning said one idea for the RV is to have couples married in the chapel “spend their honeymoon night there, (as) their honeymoon suite.”

The “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episode, featuring host Ty Pennington, aired Nov. 18, 2011. Schell Brothers, an area builder that donated the land for the rebuild, submitted the Dunnings name to the show.

It wasn’t until 2014 that Jusst Sooup Ministry began operating as a church, following complaints from neighbors that led to the Sussex County board of adjustment. The board went on to deny a special-use permit to operate a soup kitchen — which was not allowed due to the property’s zoning as agricultural/residential — leading the Dunnings to open a church on the 6-acre property.

“The Rev. Dale and Brother Ken have paid their dues,” said Ms. Schell. “They have walked over hot coals with bare feet. And God has blessed them and anointed them in a mighty way. They give back seven days a week. It’s not just Thursday with the soup kitchen. People come here every day of the week that are hungry, that need clothing.”