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#1 SHOUT-OUT
#2 FRUIT DRIVE
#3 FROM THE DIRECTOR
#4 WHAT'S CHANGED?

#1 | SHOUT-OUT
WITH GRATITUDE

We are filled with gratitude for ALL of the people who have rallied around Our Daily Bread during this current challenge. We see you, and we value you!

So here is a MASSIVE Shout-Out to the bakers baking treats, the sandwich makers bagging up endless sandwiches, the home cooks creating trays of delicacies, the supporters sending checks, the crafters making masks, the weekend lunch baggers, the drivers delivering food, the restaurants who, despite having to shut their doors, made sure their food came to us and, finally, to all of the people sending prayers our way.

This is also a chance to say to all of our volunteers who cannot be with us – we understand, we miss you, and we will see you again when all is safe.

And for our volunteers who continue to come in – THANK YOU. Thank you for wrapping one more donut, opening one more bag, scooping one more scoop, and cutting one more piece of pineapple. Thank you for the toll this is taking on your body as you do the work of three people. Thank you for your willingness to get your apron dirty. Thank you for your spirit of service. Our Daily Bread does not exist without YOU.

#2 | FRUIT DRIVE

Next week, August 24th-28th, is our first Fruit Week! Help our guests protect themselves against COVID by providing vitamin C-rich fruits and juices. We are having a Fruit Drive to support guests’ immune systems. We are specifically looking for donations of shelf-stable fruit (i.e. fruit cups, apple sauce cups/packets) and juice boxes.

Drop off 7-10am, no parking necessary:
We are located at 1730 Race Street across from Findlay Market in OTR. When delivering food items, please come to our donation door in the back alley behind our building. If you are heading south on Race, make a left on Elder, and then an immediate right behind our building. Follow the directional arrows painted on the yellow building to the green door, and ring the doorbell on the right. Someone will help you unload, and you can be on your way! 

#3 | FROM THE DIRECTOR
A LETTER FROM GEORGINE GETTY

I’m not going to sugar-coat it – this COVID thing has been tough. We are all filled with fear for the health of our loved ones and uncertainty about what the future holds. 

But times of fear also offer a chance to dive deep and get to the core of what really matters. For Our Daily Bread, what matters is feeding people.

When I look back to 35-years ago, I know that Cookie must have had a little bit of fear too. When she created Our Daily Bread, she also had no idea what the future held. But she had faith. Faith that this was a thing worth doing. Faith that people would step up to help. Her faith always proved true.

Cookie’s faith still holds true.

When COVID first started, we embraced our core mission with more resolve than ever before. Our guests rely on us for food, for a place to use the restroom, for clean drinking water. They also rely on us as a place where people know their name and care how their day is going. Our Daily Bread is home base for so many.

Our smiles are now hidden behind our masks, but we still cook with love. We still remember names. We know how people take their coffee. Our volunteers have shifted and adapted with each day, finding new ways to care, near and far. We still feed people and we will keep feeding people until this grim time is over.

And when it is over, we will open our doors again and celebrate with our guests. There will be cake, and music, food and dancing and beautiful, unmasked smiles everywhere you look.

Thank you for sticking with Our Daily Bread on this rough part of the journey and thank you for your faith in the joy yet to come.

Stay well,

Georgine Getty

Due to COVID-19 Our Daily Bread has reassessed multiple times to protect the safety of our guests, volunteers and staff.

Most significantly, our number of volunteers have dropped (see the Volunteer Hours Comparison chart), and our dining room is closed to the public (guests pick up hot meals, daily snack bags, weekend meal bags and coffee/water at the front door).

Kitchen volunteers arrive between 7:30AM and 8AM and start boxing lunches at 8:10AM, as we regularly serve 100+ meals in the first half hour. Volunteers dish up and bag to-go meals, providing more food then we used to put on the plate so that guests do not need to come through line more than once. We also serve 3-4 times more food per meal than we did prior to COVID-19, in recognition that we are now the sole source of food for many guests due to reductions in other food-service programs.

Our meal numbers are also much higher now – usually between 400-500 per day. (see the Meals Served During Covid chart). In addition to daily meals Monday-Friday, We are also serving between 250 and 300 weekend meal bags each Fridays.

As for safety, we are doing everything we can to mitigate potential exposure. All staff and volunteers are required to enter the building through our back door, wear masks and  practice 6-foot social distancing. Potential volunteers must weigh their risk factors and make the personal decision if they feel comfortable volunteering.

Things look and feel very different, but our heart is the same: we feed people, and we do it with dignity.

For more information on volunteering on-site, email kathy@ourdailybread.us
For more information about providing support off-site visit: https://ourdailybread.us/covid19faqsforonsitevolunteers/

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