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House of Bread searches for new executive director

Current Executive Director Melodie Bennett stands to the left of a House of Bread sign with Chair of the Board, Lisa Henderson, to the right of the sign outside of the facility on Orth Avenue.
Shay Frank
/
WYSO
Melodie Bennett and Lisa Henderson at the House of Bread on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

The House of Bread's Executive Director Melodie Bennett will depart after 15 years of service.

The community kitchen that serves hot meals is now searching for her replacement.

House of Bread was founded in 1983 to serve a growing population of unemployed community members.

"If we can stabilize our families and increase their housing security and increase their food security, then we can decrease homelessness for adults."

Now, the organization's core mission is to treat every visitor with respect and dignity while serving nutritious and delicious food.

"When I look at last year's calendar year, we prepared and served over 190,000 meals and that's an incredible accomplishment," Bennett said. "And I'm thrilled that we have the resources and the capacity to do that."

Board members and community organizers are still searching for a successor who will share Bennett’s passion and commitment to the community.

Having those qualities is vital to serving their community, said Lisa Henderson, chair of the House of Bread board.

"That is critical to the role," she said. "It is a passion for the work and for the people who work here and for the people who live in this community and who come in for a meal each and every day."

Under Bennett’s direction, the organization expanded to serve families as well as individuals struggling with food insecurity.

According to Bennet, the organization partnered with Wright State University to conduct research in the area. Results showed that families did not always feel like they had room at the original House of Bread facility or they were not comfortable dining as a family with other adults.

"Keep in mind that many of the people — close to 50% — of the individuals that we serve every day are in a homeless situation," she said. "And so there are all the challenges that come along with someone who's in a homeless situation: there are mental health issues, there are sometimes issues with addiction, and that leads to issues in behavior and perception of those individuals."

In response to the research from Wright State, Bennett and her team raised $1.2 million to build a family dining room with its own entrance. The expansion included a play and educational space for the children and extra dining spaces for families to sit together.

In addition to expanding the facility on Orth Avenue, Bennett founded a community health worker position.

Henderson said the role allows for the organization to address barriers that community members face with their health and wellbeing.

“They need a sustainable way to have food at home or they need help with employment or social services or whatever that might look like," she said. "It's really doing that assessment with a person and then helping them navigate the systems to get what resources are often available, just hard to find.”

Bennett hopes this type of work continues after her departure.

“Because I think we all know in this community, if we can stabilize our families and increase their housing security and increase their food security, then we can decrease homelessness for adults," she said.

After leaving House of Bread, Bennett wants to pursue her passion for education.

She said she’ll continue to serve as executive director through 2025 as needed to maintain operations.

"House of Bread has seen phenomenal growth over the last several years under Melodie is leadership so we look forward to continuing that through the next tenure," Henderson said.

Shay Frank was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. Before working at WYSO, Shay worked as the Arts Writer for the Blade Newspaper in Toledo, Ohio. In addition to working at the paper, she worked as a freelancer for WYSO for three years and served as the vice president of the Toledo News Guild. Now located back in the Dayton area, Shay is thrilled to be working with the team at WYSO and reporting for her hometown community.