July

Report to Congregation

Financials
Beaver Dam Loaves & Fishes financial position continues to be strong. We are blessed with individual donations, donations by our partner churches, and business donations. Grants continue to be written and awarded to help with the purchase of equipment.

January thru May - Food Costs: $5,912.93; Meals Served: 10,727

Food costs include all costs except major equipment purchases. Items such as containers, parchment paper, spices, aluminum foil, food, garbage bags, etc. are included in food costs. The partnership with Second Harvest is a major resource for supplying food for free or at reduced costs.

January thru May - # of Meal Dates: 17; # of Meals Served: 10,727; Average # of Meals Served per Meal Date: 631

The number of meals served can vary significantly depending on circumstances such as weather, the meal served, etc. On April 23rd, a new single meal record was set when we served 787 meals of Chicken Cordon Bleu. The last three meal dates have all been over 700 meals.

Approved: Alto Shaam Heat & Hold Oven; Cost: $9,995; Paid by: Beaver Dam Loaves & Fishes

Grants have covered most of the cost of the new heat and hold oven along with a generous gift from the Thrivent Group at First Lutheran! The Alto Shaam is installed and in use!

Kitchen Space Needs
Rearranged the small kitchen storage room so that the old bread warmer oven can be stored. We will continue to use the warmer along with the Alto Shaam to give us enough capacity to keep food warm for serving.

Staffing
All Tuesday meal volunteer group dates are filled for 2024! The core group numbers remain strong with natural absences from volunteering or leaving volunteering which is offset by new volunteers coming on board which allows us to have enough core volunteers to complete Monday prep and Tuesday core positions.

Mission Changes
There are no changes to our mission, it remains the same.
Vision: We must go live to feed the hungry, stand beside the broken, move us into action. (Paraphrased from the song God of Justice)
Mission: Our mission is to serve a weekly healthy hot meal to anyone who wants one. There will be no income requirements, we care about serving the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs of all people in our community. We want to create an environment where everyone feels welcomed and loved and a part of our community. We look to follow Jesus’ command from John 13:34 – “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

Thank you for all your support for the Beaver Dam Loaves & Fishes Hot Meal Ministry!