This is the 35th year of the St. John’s Breadline Sunday fundraiser. However, officials said this year they will not have any bread.
Becki Doolin, co-coordinator of the fundraiser, said usually many volunteers show up to help unload, pack and distribute 8,000 bread loaves to area churches. Those loaves are then sold to congregations for $4 a loaf and the proceeds go back to the St. John’s Breadline, which serves hot meals to the community.
Officials said bread is the symbol of life and sharing. For that reason, they chose it to be their “fundraising vehicle” and it continues today because it had been so successful.
This year, because of the ongoing pandemic, organizers decided to not distribute the bread. “It was a gut wrenching decision to have to change the format this year, but the safety of our volunteers takes priority,” Doolin said.
Now, officials are hoping “the community’s generosity will shine through and people will make a donation to the Breadline even though there is no bread this year.”
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Breadline has been offering to-go meals for their guests. However, they said those meals had an additional cost to the organization because of the containers needed for distribution.
“The majority of our guests are on a fixed income,” said Shawna Harris, St. John’s Breadline Supervisor. “The largest population we provide meals to are seniors and those who are disabled and the Breadline is part of their safety net. We help to ensure they are able to pay their rent, utilities and mediations and not go hungry.” She continued to say that during their last fiscal year, they served 164,005 meals.