Super Bowl LIII (53) isn’t until February 3, but we need to get ready for our own “Souper Bowl” fundraiser, this year’s major effort to support the Saturday Breakfast. On February 3, we will feature large soup pots to collect your donations in support of our twice a month Saturday Breakfasts in 2019. We will be ready to receive cash, checks, and credit cards. Get ready for The St. Mary’s Souper Bowl.
Saturday Breakfast serves a delicious and nutritious meal to almost 300 hungry neighbors on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. These guests are, in social service terms, “food insecure.” Many are also homeless.The 2018 Lane County Homeless Count found 1,640 people without stable housing - sleeping in the street, in cars, cheap hotels, or tent encampments. That’s about .43% of our county population. While that is lower than in Multnomah County (at almost .52%), we still contribute to Oregon’s position as one of the four states with the highest rates of homeless. In 2018, we have seen more guests each year, with about a 6% increase over 2017, comparable to the increase in the homeless count. Sadly, nationwide the growth in the homeless population is increasingly senior citizens who have lost affordable housing.
Saturday Breakfast provides a small bit of mercy with a good meal to these folks, as we hope that our communities will come up with more just, humane, inclusive, and permanent programs to address the lack of adequate housing for all. Be ready to contribute to the 2019 Breakfasts on February 3, our “Souper Bowl” Sunday.
