COVID-19 Update: 05.29.20

General

COVID-19 Update: 05.29.20

Meals

  • The demand for meals and support at Inspiration Cafe in Uptown continues to increase.
    • Last week we saw more than 100 individuals line up for boxed meals on a single afternoon, our highest total yet. 
  • Close to 30% of all the meals we are distributing are going to children whose families are experiencing homelessness. 

Inspiration Kitchens

  • Meals production for partner organizations and shelters continues to scale up.
    • We are now producing more than 1,000 meals each week for partner agencies. 
  • In order to continue our work through the end of June, we need to raise $55,000 in community support. 
  • Thanks to our partnership with Heartland Alliance’s FarmWorks program, our production garden at Inspiration Kitchens is beginning to yield produce that we’re using to produce community meals. 

Outreach

  • We began offering drop-in appointments with one of our case managers for people coming to pick meals up at Inspiration Cafe on two days each week. 
    • In the first week, our case manager met with 21 individuals, providing a wide range of assistance.
    • Initial services included: registering with the IRS to receive federal stimulus checks through the CARES Act, renewing food stamp eligibility, obtaining State IDs, referrals for legal assistance, help applying for Medicaid or securing assistance with medication or other health services, maintaining status on housing wait lists, completing applications for free eyeglasses, and even setting up email on one individual’s phone. 
  • This work demonstrates the extensive range of issues facing people who are experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.

Foodservice Training

  • The Foodservice Training program is officially relaunching on a virtual platform next week.
  • Our first virtual cohort will begin class on Monday, June 1st. 

Ways to help