700,000 is a large number. It’s also a milestone number for Our Daily Bread, Denton's longest standing soup kitchen. How is that, you ask? They recently served their 700,000th meal to the hungry and homeless men, women, and children of Denton County. 

With a mission of “providing nutritious meals and facilities referrals for other services to those in need,” Our Daily Bread has been in operation since June 2000. According to their press release, they serve an average of 6,178 meals a month. In addition to running a community soup kitchen (with breakfast and lunch being provided Monday - Saturday and dinner on Monday evening), Our Daily Bread provides hygiene items by request, access to a free Farmer’s Market, free bus, shower, and laundry passes, computer and phone use, social services referrals, assistance in receiving official ID cards, emergency shelter, and much more to clients of Denton County. 

To celebrate serving their 700,000th meal, a lunch, provided by Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant, will be held on Thursday, September 12th. The lunch will be attended by government officials, local business partners, churches, colleagues, volunteers, donors, and others. Client gifts will be supplied by Verus Real Estate Advisors and cakes will be prepared by Candy Haven. There will also be raffles and entertainment. As part of the event, City of Denton Mayor Chris Watts will proclaim Thursday, September 22, 2016 as the official Our Daily Bread Day. 

Our Daily Bread is largely run by volunteers, with only one full-time and four part-time staff members. Volunteers, providing approximately 25,000 hours of service per year, help out with everything from meal prep to grant-writing and fundraising. Want to get involved? Head over to their website for more information. Want to keep apprised of upcoming events and news? Check out their Facebook. 

Header image by Shaina Sheaff