Food Today.
Stability Tomorrow.
No Veteran, senior, person with a disability, working family, homeless neighbor or disaster survivor should have to choose between rent, medicine, transportation and dinner.
At Heaven Sent, feeding someone is not the end of the conversation. It can be the beginning of housing, benefits, employment, recovery, case management and long-term stability.
Hunger doesn't always look like someone standing in a food line.
It can be a Veteran sleeping in a vehicle after serving our country. A waitress working a full shift while trying to keep her children fed. A senior stretching a fixed income between groceries and medication. A person with a disability facing an unexpected expense. Or a family that lost everything when a hurricane, flood, tornado or other disaster changed life overnight.
More Than A Meal
People Deserve to Be Seen, Heard and Treated With Dignity.
When somebody tells us they're hungry, we don't begin by judging how they got there. We begin by recognizing the person standing in front of us.
A meal can provide enough breathing room for someone to deal with the next problem: finding safe housing, getting to a VA appointment, applying for benefits, returning to work, caring for children or recovering from disaster.
Food is immediate relief. Stability is the mission.
Food & Nutrition Services
Meeting people where they are—from street outreach to community feeding and eventually the Safe Harbor campus.
Hot Meals
Dignified meal assistance for people and families experiencing hunger, homelessness or financial hardship.
Meals To Go
Portable meal support for people who cannot safely or conveniently remain at a feeding location.
Street Outreach Feeding
Reaching unsheltered and vehicular homeless neighbors where they are rather than waiting for them to find us.
Food Assistance
Connecting households with available food resources, pantry assistance and community nutrition programs.
Nutrition & Stability
Helping people access food while connecting them with other resources that can reduce the underlying causes of food insecurity.
Disaster Feeding
Feeding and mass-care capability designed to support communities, survivors, volunteers and responders during emergencies.
Who We Serve
Heaven Sent is a community-services organization. Veterans are an important part of our mission—but they are not the only people we serve.
A Cafeteria That Feeds People—and Builds Futures.
Food and nutrition are planned as a major part of the Heaven Sent Safe Harbor Workforce Academy.
- Three meals per day for Safe Harbor participants
- Snacks available between meals
- Extended-access cafeteria model
- Hot meals and meals-to-go
- Food pantry / food-bank support
- Culinary and food-service workforce training
- Food preparation experience for participating students
- Nutrition and independent-living education
- Community and disaster feeding capability
- Integration with case management and other Safe Harbor services
The goal is bigger than operating a cafeteria. Participants can learn food preparation, kitchen safety, sanitation, customer service and practical employment skills while helping feed their own Safe Harbor community.
From the Kitchen to the Workforce
Safe Harbor is designed around learning by doing.
Hands-On Training
Participants can gain practical experience in cooking, food preparation, baking, sanitation and food service.
Classroom + Field Experience
Training connects classroom instruction with practical, supervised experience and employment preparation.
A Path Toward Employment
The objective is marketable skills that can help participants move toward employment, income and greater independence.
When Disaster Hits, People Still Need Dinner.
Heaven Sent's roots include disaster response. Feeding is a critical part of mass care after hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and other emergencies.
Our long-term Safe Harbor strategy includes food storage, warehouse capability, a field-feeding component and the ability to support disaster survivors, volunteers and responders when communities are under pressure.
Food, water, shelter, communications, logistics and casework aren't separate missions during a disaster. They are parts of the same response.
One Door Into a Complete System of Support
Someone may first meet Heaven Sent because they need a meal. That shouldn't be where assistance ends.
Depending on individual circumstances, that connection may include Veteran and VA resources, homeless services, HMIS-connected casework, senior and disability support, employment and workforce training, housing resources, transportation assistance, disaster recovery, family support and other community services.
Dignity Is Part of the Meal.
If we wouldn't serve it to our own family, we shouldn't serve it to somebody simply because they're hungry.
Heaven Sent believes donated and purchased food should be safe, usable, appropriate and dignity-preserving. People experiencing hardship deserve the same respect we would want for ourselves and our own families.
Respect. Dignity. Honor. Responsible stewardship.
Building a Community Feeding Network
No nonprofit solves hunger alone. Heaven Sent's model is built around cooperation among public agencies, food programs, nonprofits, businesses, faith communities, volunteers and donors.
Community Partnerships
Working collaboratively to increase food access and connect people with additional community resources.
Food & In-Kind Support
Responsible donations of food, equipment, kitchen supplies, transportation and other resources can expand feeding capacity.
Volunteers
Community volunteers can become part of meal preparation, distribution, outreach, disaster feeding and other support activities.
Need Food? Want to Help Feed Someone?
Whether you need assistance, want to volunteer, have food or equipment to donate, or represent an organization interested in partnering with Heaven Sent, we want to hear from you.
Founder / Executive Director
Heaven Sent Community Services & Veterans Assistance
(407) 279-0520 | (717) 623-0164
joepres@heaven-sent-veterans-outreach.org