"Soup's on!"

  • Published
  • By Ted Theopolos and Airman 1st Class Nick Dastas
  • 88 Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Ten Airmen from the base volunteer organization known as Airmen Breaking Bread (ABB) traveled to the western side of nearby Dayton Jan. 31 to prepare and serve lunch at The House of Bread.

Airmen donned their aprons and went to work upon arrival.

"We got there around 8:30 a.m. and started preparing the food," said Airman 1st Class Nathan Dillard, ABB co-founder. "We opened the line around 11:30 a.m., and served more than 100 people."

The airman went on to explain why ABB volunteers work at such organizations like The House of Bread.

"Giving back helps develop airmen's morale more than just having an event or PowerPoint slide presentation," said Dillard. "These experiences teach leadership and help to strengthen the core values in airmen. It's also fun because you get to spend time with your fellow Airmen while helping those less fortunate. When we give them the food they smile and say 'thank you'."

The House of Bread is a nonprofit organization that offers a hot, lunchtime meal seven days a week to those in need. Staff and volunteers work together, primarily using donated food, to prepare the meal each day.

"The reason we are here is to prevent hunger by being open 365 days a year and serving a hot, nutritious meal to anyone who shows up," said Melodie Bennett, executive director for House of Bread.

"My official average is between 230 to 250 people who come through here daily but it can be well over 300 people," said Bennett.

The House of Bread also offers personal hygiene and warm wear items, and serves as a referral source for many social service agencies in the area. The non-profit organization has stayed true to the core mission of preventing hunger for over 30 years.

"We are here to make people's lives a little better," said Bennett. "We are part of this community and we are tied into other social services. Part of what we are trying to do is figure out why people are coming to us. What is their situation that is driving them to come to us? How can we meet their basic needs and what other basic needs do they have that are not being met?"

Bennett explained that she has a staff of seven, including a bookkeeper, to operate the community kitchen. They rely heavily on volunteers every day.

"When we have volunteers like Airmen Breaking Bread come in, they help us make the lunch, serve beverages and coffee, which is a big deal for us," said the director. "They help us serve lunch, clean all the dishes and clean up afterwards. "

After seeing the Airmen in action cooking, cleaning and preparing the meal for the visitors, the director praised them.

"From what I've seen they are a fantastic group of young men and women who have a real interest in what we do and they seem genuine and intent on doing a good job for us and showing kindness to our guests, which is what we look for in volunteers," said Bennett.

ABB has other community events on the horizon.

"In the month of February we are doing Soles for Soul, which is a base-wide shoe drive, with boxes at the fitness center in Area B, Air Force Materiel Command headquarters, the Wright-Patterson Medical Center, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center as well as Bldgs. 1 and 2 in Area A," said Dillard. "The shoes are being donated to an organization that then sends them to Haiti and Africa and other needy countries for children and adults."

The airman went on to say, "Another event is adopt-a-room, which will be at the Dayton YWCA, which is a women's shelter. We are going to renovate a room for somebody who has been sexually assaulted or abused, to live in and be a safe haven for them."

ABB was founded in February 2013. Their motto is "We serve our community, our nation, to impact our world". Within their first year the organization led 12 volunteer events dedicating 1,895 hours of planning, preparation and serving to have a positive impact in the local community.