BELLOWS FALLS — Our Place Drop-in Center, dedicated to “connecting people to food and each other,” is ready to take baking to new heights with a new commercial mixer.
Center cook Matt Gowell has been using the mixer to whip up baked goods and other dishes for the daily breakfasts and lunches the Island Street center offers, and says he plans to offer bread-baking classes to the public and include fresh-baked bread with the 50 food boxes delivered to home-bound seniors each month.
The daytime shelter and food pantry bought the mixer with help from a grant from the Fanny Holt Ames and Edna Louise Holt Fund, which promotes improving community health.
“We want to help people experience the health benefits and enjoyment of fresh, home-baked bread,” said Lisa Pitcher, Our Place director. “It can also be less expensive to bake your own bread.”
Pitcher says, January was a busy month for the center, with 203 different households receiving food - a dozen of them having to make a repeat visit - and more than 1,100 meals served in the dining room.
Our Place purchases flour in bulk from United Natural Foods in West Chesterfield, N.H.
Gowell houses the mixer in a bread proofing cabinet he built. Community member Jim Oakerman built a mobile shelf so the mixer can be moved wherever it's needed.
Our Place's goal is to offer help with food and other essential needs in a non-judgmental, safe, and respectful atmosphere. It serves families in the greater Rockingham and surrounding areas, as well as Walpole and North Walpole, N.H.