Learn
Food Fort is a local nonprofit dedicated to serving children in under-resourced neighborhoods. In addition to providing food for those children in need, our mission is to provide “more than just a meal.” We seek to provide intentional relationships through respect, love, and being a constant support system in the children’s lives. As an organization, we see many youth in our area are lacking so much more than simply food or a “family dinner table” to go home to each evening. They need emotional, academic, and social support. We seek to fulfill these needs through the resources we provide.
Each week we serve in our three target neighborhoods around the Lincoln area. We provide free dinner meals in our renovated school bus that looks a lot like a small restaurant or “family dinner tables” on the inside. Also on site each evening is our Tree Top program that focuses on the academic needs of the youth we serve year-round. They can come for dinner, as well as receive homework help, tutoring, or simply interact with trusted adults who have spent time building relationships with them. We have added a scholarship program that provides not only funds but also help navigating the college experience for under-resourced youth.
Each week our organization serves an average of 175 youth, with the large majority being consistent youth we see on a weekly basis. We are living life alongside those we serve and not just serving “those people.” What makes us unique is the design of our programming. We believe being mobile and going into the neighborhoods where these youth are living and spending time with them gives us access to an unserved population. We can remove the barriers for the youth that are often in place like transportation, parental sign-up, or the need by an advocate to request resources for the family. We bring our programming and resources right into the front steps of their neighborhood and community. In essence, we are the hands and feet of Jesus, meeting people where they are to help them with their deepest needs.
Pray
We are currently working with a single mom of 9 children struggling with addiction, poverty, and mental health. Please pray the resources provided would be accepted and utilized to have a small hand in changing the path for this family.
Give
We feed just under 200 youth per week. Grocery gift cards help greatly in helping our grocery budget go further and allow funds for investment in other areas. Thrivent Action Teams are also a wonderful way for Thrivent members to support our organization in many different ways.
Food Fort is collecting Thanksgiving food so the families they serve can have a Thanksgiving meal. We will collect cans of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, gravy, stuffing mix, bags of fresh potatoes, French fried onions, and turkeys to be donated to Food Fort. Please place non-perishable donations on the table in the Narthex under the Outreach Board. If you would like to donate a turkey, please talk with Bethany.
Serve
On-Site Volunteers:
These volunteers are on location one day per week at a specific location. Unique to this volunteer position, we ask for a once-per-week commitment for all on-site volunteers. We are there to build relationships, so consistency is key. There are positions to help serve food, simply interact with the youth, as well as help in our Tree Top program of tutoring and homework help.
Cooking:
We are currently in need of someone to help prep and warm our food every Wednesday prior to our site. We feed an average of 60 youth each Wednesday evening. Prep usually takes around an hour and a half and must be completed by 5 p.m. Instructions and supplies are provided weekly by staff. Prep takes place at Calvary Lutheran Church in Lincoln.
For more information on how to serve with Food Fort, please email lincolnfoodfort@gmail.com. Food Fort is also hiring a part-time bus driver! If you or someone you know is interested in this position, you can find more details on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lincolnfoodfort.
