Sharing a meal has been central to how Make-A-Day works from the beginning. Before a referral, before a form, before anything else, there is food. It is how trust gets built. It is what signals to someone that they belong in the room. For years we have done that work out of parking lots and community centers, showing up with the food truck and setting up tables wherever people already were. Rooted is an extension of that, but with something added. At Franklinton Farms, the meal is not just a tool for engagement. It is connected to the ground, to something growing, to a resource that belongs to the neighborhood and that neighbors can return to on their own. That is a different kind of access than a referral can provide.

Traditional warming centers are built for immediacy. A place to sleep. A way to get inside. A response to cold. But for people with the highest barriers to housing, a place to sleep is not enough, or not accessible.

In partnership with the Community Shelter Board, Nate Smith Logistics, Mount Carmel and Southeast Healthcare street outreach, and various other service organizations - and funding from our City of Columbus and Franklin County partners - we helped provide a non-congregate winter warming shelter designed specifically for people who could not safely access or remain in traditional shelter environments.

Mike and Lisa founded Make-A-Day’s volunteer operated Dignity Market after nearly a decade of serving guests in the Short North. A completely free shop stocked with donated clothing and hygiene items at each one of our Pop-Up Care Villages. For them, the work has always been personal, “I just love seeing people transition into housing. That’s not really our part in it, but I think people need to see people like us caring. I think that’s important.”