make a sandwich, make a difference

 

AARP Award

We are honored to announce that A Meal With Dignity’s co-founders Gene and Joy D’Ovidio have been awarded the prestigious 2024 Andrus Award for Community Service in California! We invite you to check out a recording of the ceremony below!

 

Our Vision

A community where no one is without a meal, a home, or the dignity they deserve; where equitable access to food and safe, stable housing is a fundamental right, and collective action ensures that every individual can live with security, hope, and opportunity.

Our MissioN

To advocate for the rights and dignity of individuals experiencing homelessness by promoting equitable access to safe housing, nutritious food, and essential resources. Through community engagement, education, and policy reform, we strive to end homelessness and build a society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Our CORE VALUES

  • “Indeed, the most fundamental characteristic of life is its search for nourishment... the demand for food, for survival” (Disciplines of the Spirit, pg. 14, Howard Thurman). The gift of a freshly made meal gives vitality and allows the recipient to survive.

  • “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” The problem of homelessness is overwhelming, but anyone can make a sandwich for someone in need, and everyone should.

  • People experiencing homelessness don’t just need feeding. They should have the dignity of a good meal.

  • We know that food is medicine and everyone deserves the highest quality ingredients. Fresh, homemade, organic, and sustainable food.

  • Loving-kindness in action – not in a soup line, but one personally delivered, fresh & nutritious boxed lunch at a time.

 

Take Action

 

Small and simple

Make a fresh, organic, sustainable lunch in your own home, on your own time with family and friends. Deliver directly to the unsheltered neighbors where they are in your community.

LUNCH AND LEARN

Host a volunteer event at your workplace to make fresh, organic, and sustainable lunches and learn more about the unsheltered neighbors in your community that need to be served.

ACROSS THE WORLD

Make a meal for someone in need wherever you are by following AMWD’s step-by-step toolkit. We’ve inspired volunteers worldwide to activate and host events in their communities from Rome to Japan and throughout United States.

You don’t need an organization to feed our neighbors who are temporarily experiencing homelessness on the streets in our communities. Take action by making a fresh, organic, and sustainable lunch. Together, we can provide nourishment and dignity to those experiencing homelessness and create a ripple effect of positive change in those around us.

The AMWD Experience

  1. Host an event

  2. GATHER THE INGREDIENTS

  3. Prepare the meals

  4. Deliver the meals

  5. Share your experience

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I firmly believe that every individual experiencing poverty and suffering on our streets deserves to be treated with compassion and dignity. No one should be displaced from their current living situation without being offered permanent, safe housing. Furthermore, it's essential to provide access to clean water to quench their thirst and nutritious food to alleviate hunger.

- Joy D’Ovidio, co-founder  

Let's foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued by treating everyone we meet with dignity and respect. Just as we would feed our family and ourselves, let's nourish others with the same care and compassion.

- Gene D’Ovidio, co-founder

If you want to help real people in real time with real food, host an AMWD event with your friends and family and see what kind of a difference you can make in your community.

- Diz Petit

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