Jesus Center is not abandoning its mission

Several weeks ago, a frequent letter contributor lambasted the Jesus Center for abandoning its traditional soup kitchen model after its relocation from the Park Avenue facility to its new Fair Street location.

During 2017-2019 the Jesus Center provided 238,510 meals with annual meals provided declining each year. Clearly access to meals was a problem. Coupling that downward trend with the pandemic, the Jesus Center pivoted to a nutrition-rich meal packet model allowing meals to be portable and easily distributed where the homeless population lives and seeks services within our community.

In 2020, the Jesus Center provided 142,521 meals easily surpassing its 2017 high water mark of 95,859 meals. The Jesus Center is partnering with other service providers such as the mobile shower unit and the mobile laundry trailer to bring food to the homeless.

The Jesus Center, far from abandoning its mission, is expanding and leveraging its capacity to provide meals with the work of its partners in new and exciting ways.

— Marc Nemanic, Chico