With the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, we made the difficult decision to close the Out of the Cold program out of concern for our ability to enforce social distancing and to ensure the safety of our guests and volunteers.
Since that time, we have continued to respond to the needs of people who are homeless and vulnerable by providing hot meals.
Every Wednesday our volunteers prepare and deliver hot meals to the Warden Woods Drop-In at Teesdale Place for distribution to people experiencing homelessness and others who are housed and in need of food.
In addition to this effort, we are providing a hot evening meal every Saturday to people who are homeless and are camping in tents in parks downtown, who fear going to city funded shelters. The main course (chilis, stews, lasagnas, etc.) is prepared by community volunteers or by local restaurants. By using local restaurants in the Beach, we try to support the restaurants who had cooked for the Out of the Cold on Monday evenings over the years, often for free. The meal is supplemented by drink boxes and home baked cookies, brownies, rice crispy squares etc.
We thank the restaurants and volunteers that cook for us, as well as those who deliver the food to the people in need, for making a real difference in the lives of the people we serve.