On December 3, 1983, Sister Dorothy Kammerer opened the doors of the House of Bread to 20 hungry people in the Salem and Grand Avenue neighborhood. While just twenty meals were served that first day, over one million, two hundred fifty-five thousand meals have been served to deserving House of Bread guests in the past twenty-plus years.

When Sister Dorothy began her mission, only a handful of friends joined in the effort to nourish the hungry. Later, local businessman Joe Bettman came on board as her liason to the business community. Today, the House of Bread has a staff of four part-time and two full-time employees. In addition, more than 100 dedicated volunteers work tirelessly on a regular basis to continue Sister Dorothy's vision and the House of Bread's mission, which is as follows: "The House of Bread nourishes the bodies, minds, hearts and souls of our guests, while serving as a bridge to beneficial community resources."

Over the past twenty years, the House of Bread has steadily increased services, continuing to address the needs of the community. Currently, over 7400 meals are prepared and served each month.

The need for an operation such as the House of Bread has been and continues to be well documented. One in five people in a community kitchen line is a child (America's Second Harvest, Faces & Facts), and seventy percent of poor families with children include a person who works. Additionally, the Food Bank recently stated that 15% of the population served by them was made up of senior citizens over the age of sixty. This reflects a 15% increase over the last ten years. Government asistance still does not meet the total needs of our seniors and those living at or below poverty level, thus making organizations such as the House of Bread, the Food Bank and area food pantries invaluable assets to the community.

The House of Bread is committed to addressing more than just hunger issues. Therefore, crucial partnerships with foundations, corporations, civic and social organizations have been established and cultivated. The University of Dayton, Wright State University, Sinclair Community College and a host of local and regional high schools, churches and religious organizations complete the continuum of support.

The Food Bank along with our many food service friends and contributors, provide many of the staples that support our daily meal programs. In addition, the Food Bank recently announced the expansion of the local "Kids Café" program, a complete nutritional meal intended exclusively for children. The House of Bread kitchen will serve as one of the central meal preparation sites for this program.

Maintained within the House of Bread's 6500 square foot facility, which opened in August of 2002, is a multi-purpose meeting room where learning programs for children, various community and organizational meetings and health screenings for our guests are conducted.

The House of Bread is equipped with a state-of-the-art restaurant quality kitchen and the dining room is named in honor of the late Matt Hall, son of former Congressman, now Ambassador Tony Hall, a life-long proponent of feeding the hungry.