May 18th, 2014
Since 1991, Nippon Kan has been serving meals to the homeless on the 3rd Sunday of every month. In December 2013, we passed the milestone of funding, preparing and serving 70,000 meals. For decades, Nippon Kan served meals to the homeless at the Denver Rescue Mission in lower downtown Denver. Currently we are serving “lunches to go” at St. Elizabeth of Hungary near the Auraria Campus downtown. Our meal service now is staged in an alley behind the church and about 300 meals are served at each service. Our new arrangement allows us to work directly with our guests and offers a more hands-on approach with great communication and a good experience for everyone.
Even though the name of this project included the word “homeless”, not all of our guests that come for a meal are actually homeless. There are many reasons these days why people are in need of a hearty meal; sometime homelessness, sometimes unemployment or lack of money to pay for food or drug or alcohol problems. …We do not judge, all are welcome to join us for our lunch service once a month in the alley behind St. Elizabeth’s.
Our purpose is to not only to support the homeless, but to support anyone who needs something to eat. Circumstances differ but everyone from presidents to the most destitute needs to eat to survive. If those we serve remember us with a good thought, that is enough for us.
About 90% of the people we serve are men. As a man, this makes me think…
Our volunteers from Japan enjoy this project except for maybe the potato peeling…
Reported by
Gaku Homma Kancho
Nippon Kan General Headquarters and AHAN Founder
AHAN Nippon Kan Homeless Food Service Project Report
11/17 — 295 meals served
12/15 — 212 meals served (70,065 meals served!!)
2014
1/19 — 218 meals served
2/16 — 286 meals served
3/16 — 282 meals served
4/20 — 274 meals served
5/18 — 304 meals served
Grand total meals served since 1991: 71,125 meals