One of the challenges in our business is how to keep in contact with over 100 referral sources and community partners across the state that refer clients to our various programs.ﾠ If you've just met with a human service agency or doctor's office, your intakes for potential clients always spike.ﾠ If you seeﾠ a drop-off in the submission of intakes from a particular source, you can generally bet that your best friend in that office has left the agency, which necessitates another visit.ﾠ If you want to have a diverse client-base representing all the communities you serve, you have to constantly be doing outreach--even when you don't have the resources to do it.ﾠ Some would see this as counter-intuitive that you can offer excellent free programs and still need to "get the word out"!

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This morning, our program staff hosted our first "Open House" for Community Partners.ﾠ It was a phenomenal success.ﾠ Over 40 people came from various partner agencies for a breakfast buffet prepared by our job trainees, followed by tours of the kitchen.ﾠ After the tour, the staff set up beautiful displays in the Community Room, representing allﾠseven of our programs.ﾠ Since we were solely a home-delivered meals program for 18 years, many people in the community don't realize we do food service job training, nutrition education, sustainable agriculture or technical assistance.ﾠ The Open House was aﾠvivid illustration of the amazing NEW things we are doing in the community, and our partners seemed so enthusiastic about our endeavors.ﾠﾠﾠ It was particularly exciting to see the staff's pride in presenting each program, and making new connections in the community!

Staying Connected to Our Community Partners