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Our Daily
Bread Our Daily Bread is Nelson’s only hot lunch program that is free of charge and barrier free to all members of society. Five days per week, from 11:00am to 1:00pm, ODB offers a hot nutritious meal in a safe and welcoming environment. Each day, we serve fifty to one hundred people
Many of our guests at ODB have multiple barriers to self-sufficiency. Some of our guests are homeless and many are at risk of homelessness. The daily meal at ODB is often the only good meal of their day. Our guests not only receive nutritional health, but also emotional support. Our guests are able to connect with one another and share their life experience with one another. Many of our guests find support with childcare and problem solving from the other guests.
One of the aims of ODB has been to support people in finding meaning in their work and in their lives. Pastor Jim Reimer is available for casual counseling and our volunteers in the kitchen receive skills that help build a resume. Some of our guests use the office to contact employers, landlords, and family members. Our telephone, internet, photocopier, and fax machine are used by our patrons free of charge.
Funding And Support
Our Daily Bread got its start in November 2002 with help from Nelson Committee on Homelessness (N.C.O.H.) and received grant funding through Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (S.C.P.I.) as part of the Federal Government's National Homelessness Imitative. This grant concluded December 31, 2003. ODB continued to operate through an aggressive fundraising campaign with reduced services up to and until October 1, 2004. At that time ODB received additional grant funding from S.C.P.I. This grant concluded in June of 2006. Currently, there is no more funding opportunities available. ODB is operating through community donations, business partnerships, and the countless volunteers who make the daily operations a success.
Our Daily Bread's goal is to be completely sustainable. To achieve this goal, ODB has partnered with S.H.A.R.E. Nelson (Supporting Humanity And Responsible Ecology), a used household goods store. S.H.A.R.E. is currently sponsoring 25% of ODB’s daily operation costs.
S.H.A.R.E. is dedicated to providing employment to "hard to employ" individuals, training to volunteers in the retail sector, and donating all profits to humanitarian causes and supporting Our Daily Bread. If you would like information about S.H.A.R.E. call 352-1222 or visit the web page using the links on the left.
Successes
At Our Daily Bread, we are helping people re-write their stories. Every day we get positive feedback, thanking us for the good food and welcoming atmosphere. In 2005 we served 19,000 meals. Close to 20% of those meals were given to seniors, 5% to children.
Many parents who come to Our Daily Bread receive help with their childcare during the meal because of the real sense of community. Any parent will tell you the value of preparing one less meal during the day. On the surface we are a soup kitchen, but below the surface we are a holistic center for social change. With each meal we are helping to make each person’s life more bearable; creating a stronger community in Nelson.
To be a part of this effort to break the cycle of poverty, please call 352-7700, email odboffice@shaw.ca, or stop by between 11:00am and 1:00pm at 812 Stanley Street. The staff, volunteers, and guests, would be happy to meet with you. Donations of food, finances and time are also appreciated.
"If more lunch/dinner programs would feed this well the world would be a better, happier place." – ODB Guest
"I appreciate the family-feeling of your space. Even when I am not hungry, Our Daily Bread is an uplifting place to meet friends and share stories." –ODB Guest
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