(Transcript lightly edited for clarity)
Melodie Bennett: We are a small, nimble organization that is honestly dedicated to making sure that these doors open every single day. I am everything from, you know, an overpaid dishwasher to, you know, to cleaning our windows, to meeting with our guests when they have issues that need special assistance, to jumping in and helping, you know, actually cook some of the food for some of our guests.
Jerry Kenney: House of Bread is enjoying its 40th anniversary, serving folks here in the Miami Valley. So, let's talk about the past 40 years for an organization like this.
Bennett: Well, it's quite humbling to try to continue the mission of the House of Bread. And, you know, we were founded way back in 1983 by Sister Dorothy Kammerer and a businessman who happened to be Jewish named Joe Bettman. Both individuals have passed in the last ten years or so, but when I had the opportunity and the honor to meet them and to talk with them, both of them were so, so clear about their wishes. Their only intentions were for the House of Bread to continue in the spirit of their initial beliefs, and they were that no one deserves to go hungry, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and with respect and that everyone would be welcome in our doors.
And I keep that, you know, very close to my heart and very close to the to the front of my mind as we go through, you know, day after day of serving this community, because that is our motto. You know, no one deserves to go hungry. You know, your situation is your situation. And we're not here to judge what your situation is, we're here to serve. And if you're in our doors, then you deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion and respectfully, and that that's our mission day to day.
Kenney: How many people are you serving here in the Miami Valley?
Bennett: Well, I can tell you, in the last six months, we served just under 160,000 meals that were prepared in our kitchen, and so, you know, we serve on average, when we combine the people who come through our doors and the meals that we provide to the local community, to various programs, we average around 500 to 600 meals a day.
Kenney: Your set up is I believe you've got two separate dining rooms and one specifically set up for families to enjoy.
Bennett: We have our family dining room. It was opened in March of 2019. Thanks to the generous support of many people here locally in this community and some local foundations that answered our call when we said, 'Gee, we know that our families need a separate space, and we know there are families that don't come to us because we don't have this separate space.' In March of 2019, we added on to the original building here, and we opened our family dining room. And so, our guests with children, our little people who bring their adults with them have their own entrance, they have their own dining room, their serves a little bit separately and true and dear to our hearts, the kids have a play and educational space as well as the parents have space that they can talk with each other, that they can share, and they have that safe space to do so.
Kenney: There are many nonprofits operating in, not only in the city of the region and across the country. And depending on their mission, they may or may not see the immediate effect of completing that mission. But you get to see it firsthand every day in the faces of the people that you're serving. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Bennett: You know, Jerry, one of the great joys is meeting that immediate need. And I don't mean to sound extreme here, but it's almost a daily occurrence that we have someone walk in who has not been able to consume food for a number of days for a variety of reasons. And it's not uncommon for someone to say, you know, this is my first meal in a couple of days. And I think about, you know, how many of us, including myself, take for granted that we open our refrigerator, there's food in it, we open our pantry, there's something we can make for dinner. And that is just not the reality for way too many people in our community.
Serving every single day means not just saying, you know, that I'm putting food on a plate, but seeing the individual who's going to consume the food on the plate and how does it impact their health and their nutritional needs, how does it impact their mental health needs? How does it benefit them to, you know, have that basic need, that of honestly, food and water? And how does that impact their ability to then, go about their day and to fight the fights that they're fighting, you know, especially, community kitchens.
I think most people have an idea that, you know, we serve individuals with mental health problems. We serve individuals with physical disabilities and we serve individuals who are struggling with addiction and various forms of addiction. And that doesn't always look the same. You don't always just look at someone and think, 'Wow, I see what they're struggling with. And so, being able to as strange as it sounds, just put a smile on someone's face to know that you've met their basic needs for the day, to know that you've given them a warm welcome. Or you may be the first person who's talked to them or smiled at them and give them, honestly, a little bit of hope that there are some good things that can happen.
Kenney: Well, it's a tremendous mission that's been carried out for 40 years. And I know that you and your organization will continue to provide that service to people here in the Miami Valley. What do you need or what would you ask for from anyone who might be hearing this interview?
Bennett: The greatest way to help us is and we put this on our on our website at HouseofBread.org, and there's an icon on there that has a 40th anniversary logo. And if your listeners click on that, it will take them to a page talking a little bit about, you know, our mission and what we do, but mostly talking about items on our wish list, items that we can really, really use to help us better serve our guests. There's also an option on there to donate financially to us, and we're asking for donations of $40 or more to celebrate 40 years with us. We would like to think that there's 365 people in the community that would like to pay $40 or more and help us celebrate our anniversary.
Kenney: Melody Bennett, congratulations on seeing the organization through its 40th year and we wish you continued success in providing meals to people here in the Miami Valley. Thanks so much for your time and the information.
Bennett: Thank you, Jerry we appreciate WYSO and all you do for the community.
