If you've had a conversation with Gretchen Arrant, you know how special her family is to her.

Gretchen's father, Gene Williams, was our cheerful and faithful Santa for many years. Gretchen has never been a Santa, but she and her father were the official clowns for Chautauqua County's annual parade in Ohio.
Gretchen's mother continues to volunteer at Denton Community Food Pantry.

Clearly, feeding the hungry is a strong streak in this family. Gretchen is diligent as the queen of desserts Monday night and Tuesday lunch.  Gretchen grew up in a family that transplanted to many places as her father was a military chaplain. We giggled during the interview when we realized that she had another streak: living in places that start with a G: Guam, Greece, and Georgia, to name just a few.

We're glad you roll with ODB, Gretchen.

Warren Whitson was a man dedicated to his family and his community, serving as mayor of Denton from 1962-66 and for many years as the finance director for Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church. He also shared his financial skills with Our Daily Bread, and often visited Chef Liz in the kitchen, just to tease her and brighten her day.

When Amber Tyler heard some buzz about a fundraiser for ODB held at The Bearded Monk, she was drawn like a hummingbird to nectar. She arrived with cupcakes, as beautiful to look at as they were to taste. Amber, owner of
She proudly gave all the cupcakes sales as a donation and sent some back to ODB for Saturday lunch. Her reason? When she was a young single mother, she sometimes found it hard to make ends meet. By coming to ODB for meals, and sometimes diapers for her little girl, she was able to stay a little steadier on her feet. She wanted to return to ODB some of the help that ODB offered her.

Sometimes we all need just a little helping hand, and a tasty bite. And we appreciate your support as we continue to set a bigger table.

We admit, Artists Enclave of Denton, The Bearded Monk, SevenFeathers, Musicians against Gun Violence, and TX Fire Pies know how to put the FUN in fundraising!







We spent the evening with local live music, raffles, and friends both old and new. The support of these wonderful Denton organizations and businesses supplied funds, loads of hygiene items, and pallets of bottled water for our clients.

1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix
2 (21 ounce) cans apple pie filling
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon white sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.)
• Pour the cans of apple pie filling into a 9 x 13 inch rectangular pan.
• In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and sugar. Sprinkle mixture over pie filling.
• Pour the dry box of cake mix over apples. Dot with butter and scatter nuts on top.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes to an hour, until cake is brown on top and bubbling on the sides. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

Franki Saldivar has driven twice a week on the Kroger and Target donation runs for about 2 years. She's also been a Court Appointed Child Advocate (CASA) volunteer for 17 years.

When she was fortunate enough to retire early a few years ago, she found Our Daily Bread via the online clearing house, Hope for North Texas.

But wait, that's not all:  Franki also teaches an Old Testament course in Dallas to young woman who have been rescued from sex trafficking.

As we say hello to her in this interview, we also must say goodbye. She is returning to Gainesville, her hometown. But perhaps she will stop by for a visit? She will be making many trips to College Station, as she has a son who is an engineering major at Texas A&M.

Cody is our new Vista Volunteer, and as you see, he is happily very busy with us.

 A native of San Antonio, Cody earned a full-ride debate scholarship to UNT. He came to ODB because he was looking for an internship and saw our posting on the UNT site.

You can tell he enjoys his work here because it has "legitimacy and is hands-on and prepares him for working in the non-profit sector."

From 6 am to midnight, your donation of $25 or more to Our Daily Bread will receive some bonus value.
Why start, continue, or increase your support? Take a look at what others have to say:

North Texas Giving Day on the Denton Square.  Thursday, September 22. 5-7:30 pm

Mobile Food Pantry. Saturday, September 10. 1980 E University Dr, Denton. 9-11am

ODB celebrates 700,000 meals on Thursday, September 22.  11-noon

UNT Career Center 5K Run/Walk. Benefits Our Daily Bread. Saturday. September 24. 7-10 am