Local Agencies Working Together to Respond to Community Food Needs

Dayton, Ohio – April 2020 — In a coordinated response to address the food needs of the Miami Valley, SBT Chefs, a division of Set The Banquet Table, is prepping an inventory of bulk, family-style meals to be served through local food distribution organizations. Set The Banquet Table, created by Bill Evans, former Director of the House of Bread and operator of Evans Bakery, works to address concerns about the plight of the hungry. In response to the Coronavirus epidemic, SBT Chefs, the brain-child of Chef Matt DeAngulo, organized recruitment of local chefs and cooks in a pilot project to prepare nourishing hot and/or frozen meals for those in need.

Working in conjunction with House of Bread, St. Vincent de Paul, East End Community Services, the Food Equity Group and the Food Bank, Hall Hunger Initiative, DECLARE, and funded by Miami Valley Community Action Partnership, Chef DeAngulo and his SBT Chefs will be responsible for bulk food preparation at Dayton Cooks and the Life Enrichment Center’s local kitchens. Meanwhile, partners at Declare are coordinating pathways for distribution of the meals—whether through local food banks or partner organizations.

“The goal of this partnership is to expand our outreach — through existing organizations capable of distributing the food — to serve the thousands of food insecure members of our community, said Amanda DeLotelle, Executive Director of Set The Banquet Table. “We are still in the process of identifying areas of need within the Miami Valley and encourage local entities that would like to volunteer to assist in distribution for their local service area to reach out to us so we can coordinate a service plan.”

If you are a community organization that can assist in distribution of freshly prepared meals, please visit sbtdayton.org/special-projects. Provide a contact person, contact information, and complete the survey regarding the number of meals needed for your service area.

This endeavor is funded by Miami Valley Community Action Partnership — a 501(c)3 private, nonprofit Community Action Agency — utilizing Community Services Block Grant CARES Act dollars. MVCAP is a member of the Community Action Network and has been provided services to alleviate poverty since 1964.