The Cutting Board
News from Our Daily Bread

July  2014

In This Issue
Meals Made Easier
Passes are Path to Dignity
Yummy Breakfast Idea
Generous Support from Altrusa
Continuing to Serve
Yes, We C.A.N.!
Dallas Morning News Grant
BY THE NUMBERS

Our Daily Bread is a community soup kitchen that serves a free, nutritious lunch meal Monday through Friday to the hungry and homeless in Denton County and surrounding areas. 

 

Since opening in June 2000 as an ecumenical mission of 16 churches, we have served 565,386 meals to the hungry.

 

We also provide a continental breakfast when we open our doors at 10:00am. 

 

When the emergency shelter is open at night, we open our doors at 8:00am to accommodate closure of the shelter during the daytime, and we provide breakfast earlier.

 

The contribution by volunteers is critical; they provide approximately 25,000 hours of service per year.

  

ODB volunteers assist with all phases of the operation:  food preparation, delivery, and clean-up;  pick-up of donated food, health services by a physician and registered nurses, office assistance, assistance with fund-raising and grant writing, social services referral programs, special services, and many other necessary activities.

  • serving an average of 206 meals per day
  • serving 212 meals per month to persons with handicaps
  • serving 1,460 of  which 670 are homeless and 80 are children
  • distributing an average of 20shower passes per month
  • providing mail address service to 349 persons otherwise without a mailing address
  • issued 988  laundry vouchers as of January 2013
Quick Links

Meals Made Easier with New Items 

from Kitchen Wish List

Jim Bays: armed and dangerous but happy with the new meat slicer

Who says wishes don't come true? Here at Our Daily Bread, they do!

 

Some long-time volunteers saw the need to upgrade kitchen items and stepped right up to the plate- in a culinary context.

 

Their generous gift of $5,000 purchased many items that help us serve our mission of feeding the hungry.

 

A new Vitamix blender increases options for creating nutritious meals, and new chef knives, a meat slicer and digital scale improve the quality and safety of meal preparation. Another donation of a digital scale makes precision possible. New aprons give a fresh look to meal preparation,too.

 

 

Daniel Sonney sports a brand-new apron

 

Keeping kitchen staff and volunteers steady on their feet is important, too, so the new mats eliminate the trip hazard of the former mats.

 

Even in summer, who doesn't enjoy a cup of coffee? The donation of a 100-cup coffee pot keeps folks caffeinated.

 

Storage can be an issue for all kitchens, and ODB handles vast amounts of items.  Accepting donations and storing them is easier with the 7 new carts and new food storage box.

 

Our Daily Bread is indeed grateful to the benefactors for the much-needed items. Respecting your wish to remain un-named doesn't keep us from saying, "Thank you, thank you!"

 

 

 

Passes Are Path to Dignity

 

Many in our community know that ODB offers support and guidance for clients to enter the work force. That support and guidance goes beyond finding the job and applying for it, though.

 

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ODB clients receive vouchers for showers and laundry so they can feel more confident at the interview and on the job, too.

 

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Bus passes help our clients with easier transportation to a job interview.

 

The program of vouchers has proven very popular, growing from 20 laundry vouchers a month to 100.

 

By the end of May of this year, 907 laundry vouchers helped give our clients dignity.

 

 

 
                                 Yummy Summer Breakfast Idea from Chef Liz

 

Breakfast Ham Casserole

 

Serves 12 people, 2 ham rolls each

  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 2 cups com bread stuffing
  • 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
  • 24 slices thin deli-sliced ham
  • cheese sauce (see recipe below)
  • shredded/grated Parmesan cheese
  • paprika

 

Cheese Sauce

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1-2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
  • 1 medium mixing bowl
  • 1 medium saucepan (for cheese sauce)
  • 1 large casserole dish (for baking ham rolls)
  • 1 large serving dish

Directions 

  1. Cook spinach until thawed; drain.
  2. Combine sour cream, stuffing and spinach; mix well. Spread a heaping tablespoon of spinach mixture on each ham slice.
  3. Roll the ham slice and place seam side down in large casserole dish, leaving a little space between every two rolls. You can use individual au gratin dishes, if you wish.
  4. Cover the ham rolls with cheese sauce, being sure to cover all exposed ham to avoid crisping the ham during baking.
  5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika. Cover with aluminum foil.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes covered, then an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

 

Cheese Sauce Directions 

  1. Melt butter in saucepan. 
  2. Add flour; blend well until smooth. 
  3. Add milk 2 cups at a time and stir until thick. 
  4. Add cheese and immediately remove from heat. 
  5. Stir until well blended and smooth.

 

 



Generous Support from Altrusa International Club of Denton

 

Denton is a community of many active service organizations. The Denton chapter of Altrusa International service organization was founded in 1960 and benefits many non-profits, including Interfaith Ministries and Denton Community Food Center.

 

Altrusa president Belva Gibson recently presented Liz Whitaker and Millie Bell with a generous donation to Our Daily Bread.

 

The Altrusa funds purchased cover for our new meat slicer, a Waring immersion blender, and a Cuisinart coffee grinder.

 

As many as 39 volunteers a day use the new items to help prepare meals for Our Daily Bread clients.

 

We have a few expert reviews of the new items bought with Altrusa grant money.

 

  Joyce Turner says the new slicer cover fits perfectly!  

 Joyce Turner says the cover for the new slicer fits perfectly

 

 

 

                     

Jay MacReynolds and Mike DeFord take the new immersion blender out for a spin.

 Jay MacReynolds and Mike DeFord take the new blender for a spin

 

        

   
One daily grind that Neal Brady does not mind

  

Continuing to Serve

 

Christian Community Action, CCA, of Lewisville hosted  a retirement reception for Dennis Engelke of CoServ on June 25.  All the Denton County non-profit agencies that received funds from CoServ were invited to attend Dennis's reception.

 

Most notable among Dennis's achievements and service are the CoServ grant for ODB's snack packs and Dennis's workshops on grant writing.

 

 

Tom Newell and MillieBell present Dennis Engelke a plaque in apprecation of his support for ODB

 

 

Love and appreciation for Dennis filled the reception room. We wish him well in his retirement.  He is not relinquishing his dedication to service, however, as he plans to continue training non-profit organizations in the art of writing grants.

 

 

 

 


Yes, We C.A.N !

 

Summer in Texas means gardens are producing and cooks are canning, but for Our Daily Bread, C.A.N spells out something different: Coordinated Access Network.

 

Our Daily Bread has 3 staff/volunteers trained to assist clients and fill out the intake forms to get them to the proper social service referral agencies. The use of C.A.N. is of great and immediate help for new clients.

 

C.A.N is a state-funded program that quickly assesses the needs of the homeless or those at risk for homelessness. This outreach program allows us and The Salvation Army-Denton to be the entry points for clients who are already homeless.  Giving Hope, Inc., and Vision Ministries are the entry points for those clients who are at risk of becoming homeless. We four agencies are called the "Front Doors" for intake and emergencies to screen, assist, and refer our clients.

 

 

Denton, Texarkana, and Corpus Christi are the only 3 cities in Texas selected to pilot C.A.N.

Dr. Alonzo Peterson of Giving Hope, Inc. chairs the committee that coordinates the program. Find more information at the Denton County Homeless Coalition.

 

For further reading, visit the C.A.N. FaceBook page, Coordinated Access Network - Denton CAN Meeting.

 


Dallas Morning News Grant Makes Digital Impact

 


Grant money from The Dallas Morning News, will fund much-needed information technology improvement. July 9 and 10 will see many computers upgraded or replaced:

  • new server for the ODB office null
  • laptop for client check-in  
  • 2 new desktops

 

Chris Flusche's company, Texas IT Pros,www.texasitpros.com, will perform all the IT work, and Chris is donating some of the labor.  Chris has quite a heart for helping; his company does all the IT work for Denton Affordable Housing.

 

Thanks to The Dallas Morning News and Chris Flusche, ODB is able to meet tech challenges!

 

 

 

Look for future issues of The Cutting Board

 

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Meet Nathanial Dears, our new VISTA volunteer

           

Client to Volunteer: Mike Miller and his music interviews

 

 
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300 West Oak Street, Suite 100
Denton, Texas 76201
(Located in St. Andrew Presbyterian Church)
 


Executive Director, Millie Bell, (940) 765-7607
Our Daily Bread operates under the umbrella federal tax exemption
status of St. Andrew Presbyterian church, a 501 (c) 3.