October

Report to the Congregation

Financials
Beaver Dam Loaves & Fishes financial position continues to be strong. We were recently blessed with a $25,000 donation from a person who wishes to remain anonymous. Kris Klodowski blessed us with 800 pounds of hamburger. We continue to receive regular and first-time donations from many individuals, we are so blessed!

Food costs are on the rise. The partnership with Second Harvest is a major resource for supplying food for free or at reduced costs. Some of the food that used to be free is now at a reduced cost. While food costs are a concern, we continue to be blessed with options. Each meal cost is under one dollar.

The number of meals served can vary significantly depending on circumstances such as weather, the meal served, etc. On July 9th, a new single meal record was set when we served 865 meals of Chicken and Gravy over mashed potatoes. In July and August, we had 5 meals over 800 meals served.

Kitchen Space Needs
As we were preparing Cabbage leaves for rolling for a meal, we had a need for another microwave. One of our core Monday volunteers took it upon herself to go to Silica and buy a microwave that we put into immediate use. Thank you, Sandy!

Staffing
All Tuesday meal volunteer group dates are filled for 2024, and groups are signing up in 2025! The core group numbers remain strong. Five new volunteers recently showed up the last two weeks (September) on Mondays! Another blessing!

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