Over 55,000 free meals have been served in the last 12 months at Community Action’s (communityactionatwork.org) Gathering Place soup kitchen. That is a 52% increase over the last two years. These numbers show that hunger in Lincoln is real and increasing.
During this season of giving, Community Action’s Gathering Place is raising funds to continue its fight against hunger within the city. Their goal is $225,000 by Wednesday, December 31. Thanks to the support of their lead sponsor, Acklie Charitable Foundation and other generous sponsors, they are not doing this work alone.
“We have broken all our records of serving at the Gathering Place this year,” said Community Action CEO Heather Loughman. “Community support generated through this campaign makes this work possible.”
The Gathering Place serves free evening meals to people experiencing homelessness, near homelessness, and/or food insecurity. It’s a big house on the corner of E and Goodhue in central Lincoln.
“For many of our guests, the Gathering Place is the one place they can consistently rely on for good food and kind company,” said Lisa Janssen, Community Action’s Gathering Place Administrator.
Anyone is welcome to get a free, nutritious meal from 5 to 6 p.m. daily.
“It’s the only time I get to see all the diaspora of Lincoln come together,” said Gathering Place guest Marcus. “It just brings so much hope.”
“We are humbled by the tremendous support exhibited by our match sponsors,” said Loughman. “Their partnership is making it possible to offer $1 for $1 match on donations for the Gathering Place, which means every dollar given can go twice as far in the fight against hunger in Lincoln. We hope all will join in support of the Gathering Place and thank all who already have!”
Learn more at communityactionatwork.org to see the complete list
of match sponsors and donate today.