This week marked the end of our first six months as an operational soup kitchen, so we decided to take this opportunity to look back at our records and pause to appreciate the amazing work that our community has accomplished through this wonderful network.
January 1 – June 30, 2020
34 The number of meal services provided by the Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc Soup Kitchen
7 The number of Dining with Dignity meals (meal services with special gourmet menus)
595 The number of hours our volunteers have donated of their time
2,774 The number of individual meals served to our community
Your checks, cash donations, and support of our fundraisers has ensured that the AHTF soup kitchen was able to provide a meal for every single family that came to us during our first six months – even during the sudden unemployment boom of the COVID-19 crisis.
Just as the numbers of hungry families in need rose, so too did the AHTF bank account balance, as we began receiving unexpected donations from friends and neighbors intuiting correctly that our need was about to surge.
We’ve also received surprise gifts of ingredients from local restaurants, crisp apples fresh from local orchards, fresh hydroponic lettuce, scrumptious baked goods, and beautiful farm fresh blue, green, and brown eggs. There were donations of unusual delicacies such as oyster mushrooms, quail eggs, and chevre goat cheese – all of which wonderfully complimented our Dining with Dignity Program, in which we strive to serve at least one meal per month of gourmet quality with rare and delicious ingredients. And one thoughtful donor regularly contributed something which is tremendously costly to our budget but crucial to every meal – clam-shell takeout containers. In this era of social distancing, our ability to serve the public is just as dependent upon being able to afford takeout containers as being able to purchase the food inside of them.
We are so thankful for this continued thoughtfulness from our supporters, and we share with you the gratitude expressed frequently by our guests.
Your gifts and support have resulted directly in AHTF’s ability to;
- Increase meal serving sizes
- Improve nutritional content
- Improve flavor through higher quality ingredients, and
- Double the number of days that we’re able to serve meals
We’re so happy to do the cooking, if you’re happy to help support us. Thank you for a wonderful first six months!
Warmly,
Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc Board of Directors