What are we doing?

From Dec 21 through March, each winter 100 Nights Shelter in Keene, NH is open. This is the darkest, coldest period for people who live homeless on the streets.

Guests of the shelter are also provided with a bag lunch to take for the day with a juice box, sandwich with meat and cheese options, snack bar, napkin and piece of fresh fruit.

We are in our third year of providing breakfast and lunch for Saturday morning to the guests of this shelter when the Keene Community Kitchen is closed all day. In 2010 this included the entire week between Christmas and New Year's because the community kitchen was closed that week for maintenance. ( it will be open this year.)

How we got involved

Some of us attended the homeless vigil some years back when it was held outside the Keene Community Kitchen. It has since moved to t he central square in downtown Keene, NH. There was a clear sense of a future for us in aiding those on the streets. We had already done food drives for the community kitchen.

A large homeless camp behind a shopping center had been functioning quietly for years. In 2008 it was publicized. Authorities closed it down with warnings of thousands of dollars in daily fines to the shopping center owner if it remained.

A private citizen emerged in this crisis and began to lease space and open it for shelter. Some of us heard about it through friends and did overnight volunteer shifts.

Others discovered that no meals can be served there and thus found a place to serve also and that is what we are doing now.

Meals started with serving a tailgate breakfast outside the shelter on the street. The menu was donated bagels with cream cheese, juice and hot coffee. then a lunch bag was added.

After a while, seeing this was continuing, the shelter allowed us to come indoors at 6:30 am to distribute breakfast and lunch. The shelter guests must leave by 7am. There is satisfaction in knowing that no one staying at that shelter will be hungry that day.

When there are "leftovers" they are taken to the 100 Nights Drop In Center on the first floor and people who come in during the day can have them as well. We have come to know and cherish some of the "regular" guests in a season and often see them out and about in the community or at the community kitchen.

Sometimes this leads to further opportunity to assist an individual. We know that most shelters in our community also cannot provide meals. For now we concentrate on feeding the guests at this shelter.

What can we do?

Non perishable Food and Supplies

• paper napkins-heavy duty
• lunch bags
• sandwich wrappers
• juice cups
• hot cups
• stir sticks
• snack bars-in sealed wrappers
• juice boxes
• sugar packets
• peanut butter
• fruit jelly (grape or strawberry)
• mustard
• mayonnaise

Perishable Foods

During the Season if you are donating items rather than money please contact info@libertytreemin.org to arrange timing so there is proper and adequate storage

• bread
• sandwich meat (bologna, ham, turkey, chicken)
• cheese
• fruit (apples, tangerines, tangelos, bananas)
• snack bars in wrappers
• cream cheese packets
• bagels
• orange juice in in quart jars
• 1/2 and 1/2 dairy in quarts

Donations of items may be arranged by contacting info@libertytreemin.org. Monetary donations may be sent to:

Liberty Tree Ministries P.O. Box 1265 Keene, NH 03431

When you include a letter designating your donation for the" Homeless Meals" it will be used exclusively for that purpose in its' entirety. Our general operating expenses are met with other offerings and donations.