Our Daily Bread marked its 30th birthday recently by celebrating with community members, volunteers, staff and the organization’s founder, Ruth “Cookie” Vogelpohl, who was inspired to open the facility in 1985 after seeing a man digging through the trash to find a bag of half-eaten hamburgers for his next meal.
Since the launch of Our Daily Bread, the organization has served as a place of stability in the Over-the-Rhine community by welcoming visitors each weekday morning with coffee and baked goods, followed by a
three-course meal and time for fellowship.
“By noon, the meal service has ended, and from 12-2:30 p.m. it’s mostly just an open time for people to hang out,” says Melissa Shaver, director of communications for Our Daily Bread. “So people play cards or chess or just talk a lot. Two times a month we do a Bingo game that’s totally volunteer-run, with prizes — dish soap, toilet paper, the occasional clothing item — that have been donated.”
The organization serves 400-500 meals each week and totaled 99,255 meals served for 2014. And through its
Lunch on Legs delivery service, Our Daily Bread also serves those in the community who are unable to make it to the facility but who are still in need of a meal.
It’s ultimately the sense of community, however, that Our Daily Bread provides to individuals that keeps them coming back, Shaver says.
The nonprofit offers
Kid’s Club programming and even engages volunteers in its Birthday Angels program, in which birthday cakes are baked for and given to community members who might not otherwise have the means of attaining a cake and celebrating with others.
“A couple days ago, our furnace went out, generating a lot of questions like ‘Where will they go?’ because there are other places people can get free meals pretty much any day a week, but a lot aren’t necessarily open after the mealtime,” Shaver says. “Some don’t have indoor space for people, and in the cold it reminds you, ‘Oh, some people really don’t have somewhere to go.’ Even people who have apartments, they’re usually isolated one-bedroom apartments, so a sense of community is important.
“Regardless of your economic status, you should have some place where you’re not considered loitering or considered a blight on the community. I think that’s what Our Daily Bread tries to do for people.”
Do Good:
• If you have a skill or talent you're able to share with the organization, reach out to Our Daily Bread and consider
volunteering.
• Organize a
canned food drive for Our Daily Bread.
• Become a mentor, reading buddy or dedicated volunteer for the Kid's Club.
Contact the Kid's Club if you're interested in helping.
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