In the season of giving, the homeless men’s shelter is seeking volunteers to provide meals through Christmas as well as beyond the holiday season to ensure those at difficult transitional points in their lives can continue to eat.

For the safety of both the shelter’s residents and those delivering food, only curbside deliveries of food prepared at home will be accepted.

As many church and youth groups have discontinued in-person gatherings during the pandemic, the shelter said many would-be helpers don’t realize they can still help. For many groups, the excitement of volunteering to cook and serve in the kitchen includes interacting with the residents and getting to know them – a prospect now dimmed by the curbside rule.

“It gives them an opportunity to see who (residents) are and meet the men,” said Director Steve Roe.

-Messenger photo by Elijah Decious
Beacon of Hope, a homeless shelter for men, needs volunteer help to get through the holiday season and beyond. The shelter is recruiting help to cook meals that can be contactlessly delivered to their curb to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission.

But despite COVID-19 restrictions, Roe said the shelter has faith in the Fort Dodge community that has always stepped up to serve the shelter over the last 10 years.

Because of the pandemic, the shelter was forced to reduce its residential capacity from 60 to 40 to ensure proper social distancing among the residents, who experienced an outbreak that infected four residents about a month ago. For the time being, Beacon of Hope is closed to visitors and mask use is mandatory inside to keep another outbreak at bay.

“Probably the hardest thing for us is that we can’t take as many people,” Roe said. “That’s the hardest part, because we don’t want to turn anybody away.”

Though he said the shelter will always find a way to make room for emergencies, like men still living on the street, it has had to turn down regional hospitals and psychiatric institutions looking for placements for discharged patients.

“We’re not going to allow anybody to be living on the street,” he said.

For the people who live there, a meal provided is a time for sustenance of the body as much as the soul, the director said.

“It’s not really that they’re provided a meal as much as it is there are people out there in the world that care about them,” Roe said. “Do we need to eat? Sure, we need to eat.”

But it’s much more than eating. For the men often living in the margins of society, it’s the realization around the tables, with one bite or another, that others still care about them. In a time of mandatory separation for everyone’s health, a curbside delivery lets them know how close they are to others’ hearts.

“The community gets blessed by being part of the mission, and guys get blessed to see people that care. It really isn’t about the food,” said Roe.

Without the traditional blocs of social groups to cook together, Volunteer Coordinator Annette Howard said the shelter has had to think outside the box to recruit help. Some didn’t realize that friends in their social group could cook separately at home before delivering the goods put together.

“If your thing is baking, then bake,” Howard said. “It doesn’t have to be with a group. It can be anything from sandwiches and chips to hot meals like a casserole.”

But do schedule with her before turning on the oven, she said — they can’t have too much food dropped off at the same time. Use disposable cookware and serving ware so you don’t have to scramble to get a cherished dish back.

For those without a knack for cooking — it’s not for everyone — perhaps your talents lie in coordinating others who can cook. Some have brought together efforts for catering from Hy-Vee or a local restaurant.

And if all else fails, gift cards for groceries or restaurants are always graciously accepted. Groceries are too, but check with Howard first before bringing in your canned goods.

“We miss our volunteers, we miss having them with us because they are the heartbeat of this community and this shelter,” Howard said, praying for the day when the pandemic passes. “That’s what we’re missing, the connection of our community. Our guys are missing that.”

In the meantime, they appreciate the community’s outpouring in challenging times, even if donors don’t personally get to see the results up close of what their generosity provides.

“(Getting volunteers) has gotten much more difficult with COVID,” Howard said. “The thing that’s most attractive is that servers love to get to know the guys. With curbside, they don’t have that.”

November and December are easier months to book, she said, but getting meal help becomes more difficult as the dead of winter arrives and the giving spirit brought in by the holiday season is put on the back burner.

Nevertheless, they all have faith that God will provide through a community they’ve always known to serve those in need.

Want to help?

• Contact Beacon of Hope Coordinator Annette Howard at 515-302-4128 to schedule a day to provide a meal. Dinners this month are needed for Dec. 15, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31.

• To protect volunteers and residents, only curbside deliveries of food will be accepted.

• Meals can be prepared at home by anyone with a desire to help. Meals don’t need to be cooked together with a group. They can be simple, like sandwiches, or easy to make in large quantities, like chili.

• Make enough food for 40 people.

• Prepare meals in disposable ware, like an aluminum tray. Meals do not need to be individually plated or portioned.

• Can’t cook? Maybe your talents lie more in coordinating those who can cook to prepare a meal.

• The shelter also welcomes gift card donations for grocery stores or restaurants. Ask Annette Howard how you can best help if you’re not sure how.