Grass Valley, Calif. (Jan. 24, 2022) – Committed to a healthy, equitable world, BriarPatch Food Co-op has pledged to help its neighbors in need by increasing its support of Hospitality House in 2022, the leading nonprofit shelter services provider for Nevada County residents experiencing homelessness. By growing their existing partnership, BriarPatch will help Hospitality House provide even more meals and emergency services to those who need it most throughout the coming year.
“We consider our support of Hospitality House an absolute,” said BriarPatch Marketing Manager Rebecca Torpie. “The work they are doing to assist those experiencing houselessness is essential to the literal survival of many of our community members. Every person deserves a safe, comfortable place to live. That’s basic humanity.”
BriarPatch continues to model the community-mindedness that has earned the grocer a reputation of altruism in the community. This past year, BriarPatch went above and beyond in their support of Hospitality House. In addition to providing financial support to respond where the need is greatest and access to high-quality meats and produce at no cost throughout the year, last March, when Hospitality House experienced a heightened need for cooking support, BriarPatch responded by donating staff time to cook meals. They also solicited and procured thousands of dollars’ worth of food donations to meet growing demands. In August, when they learned of Hospitality House’s efforts to house homeless Veterans, they offered their own matching campaign to the community to further this effort. Most recently, BriarPatch launched a 12 Days of Giving campaign during the month of December, collecting donations to purchase much-needed items such as energy bars, pillowcases, hand and feet warmers, and rain ponchos—items that homeless individuals were especially thankful for during the last snowstorm. On top of this, in December, BriarPatch made Hospitality House the beneficiary of their monthly CAUSE program, now called Round-Up at the Register, raising nearly $4,000 for ongoing emergency shelter and support.
Over the next year, BriarPatch will continue to donate high-quality organic ingredients as well as unrestricted financial support to help homeless men, women, children, seniors and Veterans receive nutritious meals and related services at Hospitality House.
“We are dedicated to serving the most vulnerable members of our community,” shared Tyson Powers, the program officer at Hospitality House. “When the need for services initially increased in March of 2020 because of the pandemic, Hospitality House met those needs by expanding its shelter operations throughout 2020 and all of 2021, too. This resulted in not only more people receiving help but a tripling of our daily food costs, which has not gone down. BriarPatch’s support was and is instrumental in the success of these efforts.”
As Hospitality House remains steadfast in its commitment to bringing homeless people in Nevada County into a circle of community caring, BriarPatch remains diligent in supporting those efforts. Together, the two will continue to ensure that Nevada County residents in crisis receive the food and nourishment needed to return to housing.
To help further services to those in need, the community’s support is always welcome and appreciated. Donations may be made at hhshelter.org, by calling 530-615-0852, or by sending a donation made payable to Hospitality House at 1262 Sutton Way, Grass Valley, CA 95945.