2025 Recap
What We Did in 2025:
2025 was a FULL year of serving our community and sharing the love of Jesus!
Every year, we focus on providing quality food to our neighborhood at subsidized prices and, when necessary or possible, at no charge. This year, we fed our community through:
- Our regular Cafe hours, where our foot traffic increased greatly in 2025. Our food items have flown out the door and we are so grateful to our volunteers for keeping up with the high demand!
- Our weekly, free, post-church lunch. This year we watched our church grow, with church attendance averaging 40 people each week.
- Our annual summer Community Picnics. In 2025, we saw roughly 80 people each week. We got the joy of serving and enjoying dinner with them for 12 weeks from June to September.
- We hosted a free Veterans Lunch to honor Youngstown's service members. Planned by one of our Board Members; our church members, coffee shop regulars, and other community members came together as volunteers to support this incredible event. We served about 70 veterans, with about 120 people attending the event in total.
- We got to support our wonderful church member, Heidi, in her Holy Hallelujah event yet again in 2025. This year we got to help serve hot dogs, snacks, and hot chocolate to 250-300 of our neighbors on Halloween night.
- For the first time ever, in 2025, we began offering a free, weekly community dinner in response to the Government shutdown and delays for those who rely on governmental food programs. These dinners were made possible by eager volunteers who stepped up to cook, serve, and love on our community for three Thursdays in November and three in December. We served around 130 community members a week in November, and about 80 per week in December. Attendance has decreased with the restoration of SNAP/EBT benefits, however, we have continued this community meal on a less regular basis going into 2026.
Every year, we focus on providing quality food to our neighborhood at subsidized prices and, when necessary or possible, at no charge. This year, we fed our community through:
- Our regular Cafe hours, where our foot traffic increased greatly in 2025. Our food items have flown out the door and we are so grateful to our volunteers for keeping up with the high demand!
- Our weekly, free, post-church lunch. This year we watched our church grow, with church attendance averaging 40 people each week.
- Our annual summer Community Picnics. In 2025, we saw roughly 80 people each week. We got the joy of serving and enjoying dinner with them for 12 weeks from June to September.
- We hosted a free Veterans Lunch to honor Youngstown's service members. Planned by one of our Board Members; our church members, coffee shop regulars, and other community members came together as volunteers to support this incredible event. We served about 70 veterans, with about 120 people attending the event in total.
- We got to support our wonderful church member, Heidi, in her Holy Hallelujah event yet again in 2025. This year we got to help serve hot dogs, snacks, and hot chocolate to 250-300 of our neighbors on Halloween night.
- For the first time ever, in 2025, we began offering a free, weekly community dinner in response to the Government shutdown and delays for those who rely on governmental food programs. These dinners were made possible by eager volunteers who stepped up to cook, serve, and love on our community for three Thursdays in November and three in December. We served around 130 community members a week in November, and about 80 per week in December. Attendance has decreased with the restoration of SNAP/EBT benefits, however, we have continued this community meal on a less regular basis going into 2026.
In addition to serving our community through providing food access, we've also sought to meet needs in other ways:
- In 2025, we received a wonderful donation that allowed us to furnish our back patio and open it up for the summer months.
- Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to hire three summer interns at the Cafe. This made 2025 our second year being able to hire interns from our neighborhood!
- With quite a bit of effort and support from volunteers and donors, we were able to finish the upstairs apartment space and fill it!
- This year, we partnered with one of our teen members in a coat drive, collecting coat donations since the beginning of November. We've received more than 300 coats since we started and saw around 150 find homes in November alone. Since then, we've continued to receive donations and give them away as people have need during our community dinners and regular hours.
- We sent a team to Uganda for two weeks in July of 2025. This team got to serve in a variety of capacities while there, sharing the Gospel and watching many commit their lives to Christ!
- In 2025, we received a wonderful donation that allowed us to furnish our back patio and open it up for the summer months.
- Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to hire three summer interns at the Cafe. This made 2025 our second year being able to hire interns from our neighborhood!
- With quite a bit of effort and support from volunteers and donors, we were able to finish the upstairs apartment space and fill it!
- This year, we partnered with one of our teen members in a coat drive, collecting coat donations since the beginning of November. We've received more than 300 coats since we started and saw around 150 find homes in November alone. Since then, we've continued to receive donations and give them away as people have need during our community dinners and regular hours.
- We sent a team to Uganda for two weeks in July of 2025. This team got to serve in a variety of capacities while there, sharing the Gospel and watching many commit their lives to Christ!
2025 was a full and incredible year, made possible by donors, volunteers, and community members. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2026!
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