D likes to help out the community at Peace House Community with a very specific service: he brings cereal (and sometimes other groceries) to our kitchen staff. For whatever reason, cereal has been hard to find through our food rescue partners, and PHC can’t afford to buy it in the quantities we need. D helps fill the void by collecting cereal from his neighbors.
“The cereal comes from a box that’s delivered to Minneapolis Public Housing residents, and senior citizens. My neighbor gives it to me, and then her friend gives it to me. And then another one gave it to me, so I keep getting it from my neighbors.” D also brings in canned goods and fresh vegetables when he can get them.
Asking D how long he’s been coming to PHC brings back some good memories. “I was going to the old Peace House, so a few years.I have to go back to the beginning. I used to ride the number 2 bus up and down Franklin, and I seen this little building, and I seen a lot of people standing outside. I was like, ‘I want to go in there.’ As I heard people talk about it, I heard some stories, and I finally made it in there, and I just liked it.”
Is there anything D wants to tell PHC’s donors and supporters? “I’d directly like to say to them, ‘Peace House is here. It’s ongoing. It’s foundation is good. It’s mission statement is good. It does good for the people. And we’d like to continue that.’”
D’s been part of the community at PHC for decades, and like PHC, he isn’t planning on leaving anytime soon.