Feeding 104 People 3 Meals A Day

This week's guest blogger is Hope House Director of Marketing, Lee Marlin.

Hope House operates on an extremely small food budget: $17,000 a year. That number sounds like a lot when you look at your own personal budget, but let’s break it down. We feed 104 people 3 meals per day, every day of the year. So that breaks down to $46.58 per day, or 45¢ per person, or 15¢ per meal.

I’m pretty tight with a penny, but I can’t even buy Ramen noodles for 15¢! So how does Hope House do it?

We are fortunate to have concerned and caring individuals, businesses and organizations in our communities that help us.

1. They organize food drives at work or church.
2. They buy a few extra fruit or veggies for us at the farmers market.
3. They attend state or county fairs, buy livestock and donate it to us.

Upcoming state and county fairs in the area include:

In Missouri:

1. Cass County Fair in Pleasant Hill - July 13 – 18
2. Johnson County Fair in Warrensburg – July 5 – 10
3. Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, August 12 – 22
4. American Royal, October 2010

 In Kansas:

1. Wyandotte County Fair in Kansas City, July 27 – 31
2. Johnson County Fair in Gardner, August 2 – 7
3. Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, September 10 – 19

Every little bit helps. If you have excess fruits and veggies from your own garden, we’re happy to take them off your hands. Fresh produce is a wonderful treat for our clients. Even two home-grown tomatoes could cause considerable excitement in our kitchens!