More Than Groceries: How House of Hope Feeds Hope and Opportunity
Original Article written for Friends & Neighbors.
House of Hope works diligently at our mission to empower residents to overcome hunger and hardship. We do this work in two lanes. First, in basic needs, where we focus on food, clothing, financial assistance, and case management. We have become the largest provider of safety net services for lower income residents in the area. Our other lane is life skills, where we offer programs, services, and trainings for all ages, from early learners to seniors, with a focus on education, job skills, health and nutrition, family centered coaching, the arts, and more.
Even with all the different programs and services that we offer, over 70% of new clients come to us because of food insecurity. Our four food pantries, located in Stuart, Jensen Beach, Hobe Sound and Indiantown, are at the center of our mission. When clients enroll in our pantry service it gives us the opportunity to introduce them to a member of our Project HOPE team to connect them to our wide range of services, and to refer them to resources outside of our organization. So, in our model, we use our pantries as a bridge to empowerment.
Our pantries also embody our organization’s values, where we are client focused and people are treated with dignity and respect. Ours are not typical food pantries. We use a Client Choice model where our pantries are set up like small grocery stores. Access is always at no cost to those we serve. Our clients grab a cart and can select foods that match their family’s preferences and dietary needs. They are welcome to “shop” from a supply of nutritionally balanced groceries, including fresh produce, frozen meat, canned and dry goods, bread and pastries, dairy products, deli products, and other miscellaneous products such as condiments, snacks, baking products, and more. We take special pride in the fact that more than half of the food we distribute is fresh and healthy, with many pantry options grown by us at our own hydroponic farm.
Our pantries also provide support for our clients that are currently experiencing homelessness. They can access the pantry each day and select from freshly made sandwiches, salads, and side dishes as well as a variety of foods that we pick up each day from local restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores.
Our pantries and our food bank services distribute approximately 1.7 million pounds of food annually and are important tools to influence the health of our community. We are fond of saying that healthy kids are better learners and healthy adults are better earners.
Our generous community also plays a key role in the success of our pantries and our ability to serve. All of our pantry locations accept food donations from the public. We also benefit from food drives conducted by local businesses, neighborhoods, youth groups, churches and others. Volunteers are also vital to our success, and help to sort food, stock shelves and assist clients. If you would like to learn more about how you can help, or if you need our services, please visit our website at www.hohmartin.org. Thank you for spreading hope in our community.
