BOZEMAN DAILY CHRONICLE EDITORIAL – COMMUNITY CAFE

Editorial: Cafe fighting hunger one free meal at a time

Posted: Sunday, April 29, 2012 12:00 am

Click here for original editorial

Prospects for the underfed got a whole lot better last week when the Community Café officially opened its doors.

This new venture on North Seventh in Bozeman invites anyone and everyone to have a meal free of charge. It’s the result of a joint effort of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and the Human Resource Development Council with a lot of help from church and community organization volunteers who staff the new eatery and feed their patrons with food donated by local grocery stores and restaurants.

The project was born of a need to fill the gap left by the closure of His Soup mobile kitchen that provided food for the homeless. But there are far more than just the homeless who need help with food. The Food Bank says that it serves some 3,500 people monthly with emergency food aid. And that aid isn’t enough for single-parent households. The strain of maintaining a job and seeing to other household needs often means that preparing food is an extreme hardship.

That’s where the Community Café comes in. This new option will hopefully provide a permanent solution for those who struggle to get enough food.

The café has been quietly serving 40 to 70 people a day since last month, serving just one daily entrée option. Now that it has officially opened, those numbers are likely to increase sharply. And the café staff says they hope to provide more daily options in the future.

For far too long, Bozeman has turned its back on the less fortunate. Not that long ago, the solution to the problem of those in need was to put them on a bus to Butte. But things have taken a turn for the better with the opening of a temporary shelter during the last two winters – a shelter that has been used by scores of people.

The opening of the Community Café represents another positive development – a dependable place for those in need to find some food.

All those involved are to be commended for this effort, and best wishes for long-term success go their way.

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re posted with permission

The Human Resource Development Council’s (HRDC) Gallatin Valley Food Bank announces the opening of the Community Café, located in the former Frontier Pies building at 302 N. 7^th Avenue in Bozeman.

The Community Café is an extension of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and, in partnership with local faith communities and service organizations, is being established to provide hot evening meals to those who need them.  The Café will serve people of all ages and will provide hot meals from 5 to 7pm every night of the week.

“Like so many Food Bank initiatives, this came together as a broad-based community partnership,” explains Tim Trzinski, Food Bank Director.

The need for the Café became apparent to the Food Bank during the past year as local demand for food assistance continued to rise substantially.  The Food Bank currently provides emergency food services to as many as 3,500 people per month through their food box program.  In 2011, they distributed almost 2 million pounds of food to serve local needs. The surge in local demand for food assistance, coupled with feedback from several local congregations provided the impetus for this new offering.

“The faith-based community has been excited about working with us to provide food and host the evening meals.  This new effort simply would not be possible without their energy and dedication to those in need” Trzinski says.  The Bozeman United Methodist Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the Bozeman Seventh Day Adventist Church stepped forward right away as early supporters for the project.  Since then, an additional 12 congregations and community organizations have stepped forward to help.  According to Trzinski, the Food Bank will need to work closely with as many as 30 local partners (congregations, businesses, individuals)  who will host (and cover the costs associated with providing evening meals) at the Café for one or more nights each month.   Partner organizations will provide the volunteer staff to help serve meals in the Café.  Additional help will be needed in gathering food and supply donations, planting extra rows of produce for use in the meals, and many others.

“HRDC purchased the building because emergency food service is part of the important “safety net” we provide as a local Community Action Agency,” says Grenier.  “It was natural for us to take the lead in such an important area of food security.”

The HRDC purchased the Café building from Stockman Bank in February.  It had stood vacant for the past seven years and its central location was a large factor in the purchase.  For now, the Gallatin Valley Food Bank will prepare the meals at its main facility on Bond Street, and the hot meals will be served at the Community Café.

The community need for food assistance at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank has increased four-fold in the past five years as local individuals and families have struggled with unemployment and lower family incomes.

Those interested in sponsoring evening meals or providing donations in support of the Café should contact the Gallatin Valley Food Bank directly (café@gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org ) or through their web site for more information (www.gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org).

The HRDC and the Food Bank’s plans also include broader-based community services on site including workforce development and culinary training programs in addition to other community partnerships in the near future for the Community Café.  “We have had so many people approach us with good ideas of related services and possible expansions and use of the new facility,” says Trzinski.  “We want to tap into the community’s vision, energy and passion as we move forward.”

Community Cafe Page

Part-time Homemakers (see the Homemaker Services Page for more information about serving the elderly in their homes)

Head Start Substitute Teachers

click here to apply!

The Home to Stay Program is looking for an Americorps *VISTA for this summer.  For information about the position, or to apply, please visit the attached link and search for homlessness projects in Montana.

www.americorps.gov

In February, the Human Resource Development Council’s (HRDC) Streamline transportation program reached its third significant milestone in the past six months.  Streamline provided nearly 32,000 rides for the month of February marking the first time that Streamline has provided more than 30,000 rides in one month – quite an accomplishment, based on the fact that February is the shortest month in the year.

“Streamline may have benefited from the fact that February 2012 had an extra day,” said Director Lee Hazelbaker,  “but consider that the previous record for rides in one month was 28,514 in January 2012, with the next highest ridership totaling  25,267 in February 2010.”

The milestone caps a six-month period that saw Streamline celebrate its five-year anniversary in August 2011 and provide its one-millionth ride in November 2011.  “With ridership at this current level, total ridership for Fiscal Year 2012 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012) could surpass 300,000 rides,” said HRDC Board Chair David Kack. “Streamline has become an important community resource and an example of HRDC’s mission to strengthen community,” added Kack.

Streamline is a fare-free public transportation service that is administered by HRDC in partnership with the Associated Students of Montana State University (ASMSU). Streamline receives funding from the Montana Department of Transportation, Montana State University, City of Bozeman, City of Belgrade and Gallatin County.  Additional sources of funding include Bridger Bowl and Bohart Ranch, Reach Incorporated and RightNow Technologies.

The HRDC is a nonprofit community action agency dedicated to strengthening community.  To learn more about Streamline or the HRDC visit, www.thehrdc.org.

The Gallatin Valley Food Bank’s inaugural Nourishing Community Awards recognize outstanding individuals, businesses, and organizations in the community that help advance the mission to improve food security in the Gallatin Valley.  The awards ceremony held March 23rd, 2012 honored the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation in the “capacity building” category, for helping the Food Bank expand the local KidsPack Program, Montana State University Office of Community Involvement in the “advocacy” category for its work in mobilizing the community to help provide emergency foods, and Craig Cummings (posthumously) in the “direct service” category, for his meaningful impact on the health and well-being of the children at Heck/Quaw Elementary during his tenure as principal.    The ceremony honored the generosity, valuable time, effort and resources that the recipients have shared with those in need.

The Gallatin Valley Food Bank is a program of the Human Resource Development Council and operates the Emergency Food Box Program, Food Rescue Program, Kids’ Summer Lunch, KidsPack, and Senior Grocery Program.   For more information visit www.gallatinvalleyfoodbank.org

HRDC program helps homeless families get off the streets

Posted: Feb 22, 2012 10:34 PM by Judy Slate, KZBK News, Bozeman
Updated: Feb 23, 2012 8:52 AM

More than 1,000 people faced a housing crisis in the Gallatin Valley last year alone. They were able to find stable housing with the help of the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC) “home to stay” program. Watch video here.

Begining November 25, 2011 the Warming Center opened its door for the season.  With enough community donations, the Center will remain open until the end of March, 2012.  While staff is hired and the facility is ready to host up to 24, we still need volunteers to get us through the season.  Volunteers help on-site staff to log in guests, maintain site control, offer conversation, and generally keep the facility warm and safe.  Each volunteer hour saves the cost of a staff hour, so whether you can give up 1 or 4 or 8, we will take it all. 

To register to volunteer:

1.       Open up hotmail website
2.       Log-on information windows live ID: or user email:  warmingcenter@hotmail.com     
3.       Password:  V0lunteer   click sign in.
4.       Open up calendar (its under hotmail highlights)
5.       Double click on day or the evening you want to volunteer
6.       An add event box will appear
7.       What:  name and time you are volunteering : Stephanie 7pm-7am, or Stephanie 7pm-1am, or Stephanie 1am-7am
8.       Where: add a phone number where you can be reminded of your shift:  123-4567.      
9.     Calendar: Volunteer
10.   Check the All Day box
11.    Click the save button
12.   Make sure it showed up on the calendar. 

Volunteer applications can be found on www.thehrdc.org website under warming center (programs), at the warming center during open hours, or at the front desk of the HRDC at 32 S. Tracy.

Bozeman, October 26, 2011

The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) District 9 in Bozeman, announced today that it will  honor Senator Dorothy Eck on Wednesday, October 26th at the HRDC’s 4th annual Commitment to Community luncheon in Bozeman.  The luncheon will be held at the Emercon Cultural Center.

“Dorothy is a role model for all of us who care about community” said Jeff Rupp, CEO and President of the HRDC.  ”She has dedicated her life to service and worked tirelessly to make the community strong and responsive to public and private needs.”  Eck served as a state senator from Bozeman for twenty years.  She admits to having had her “fingers in an awful lot of events and programs” during that time.  At 87, Eck is proud that she helped make a difference.

Senator Eck is well known for her optimism and leadership.  She has taken on many causes, including mental health, economic and legal reform, and open government. “She has inspired me through the years and has challenged me to make hard decisions in support of this community,” said Rupp.

“In so many ways, Dorothy embodies what the HRDC stands for — helping people of all ages and situations confront and overcome economic and social obstacles so that they can improve their lives.”

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