BISMARCK, ND ( KXNET ) — The Great Plains Food Bank has awarded Dream Center Bismarck its highest honor, the 2023 Agency of the Year – Spirit of Service Award for the nonprofit’s efforts to relieve hunger for people struggling to make ends meet.

For the past couple of years, Dream Center Bismarck has provided free meals to lower income families, many of whom work multiple jobs and struggle to make ends meet.

The organization’s founder, Jim Barnhardt says their volunteers serve hundreds of meals to people in their dining hall throughout the week, to include hot breakfasts and evening dinners.

He adds that on a weekly basis, they serve around 500 to 700 hot breakfasts, hand-out 700 to 1,100 sack lunches and serve 1,500 to 1,800 banquet meals a week in Trinity Hall, the center’s dining facility.

“A great big thank you to the community and to those hundreds of volunteers who have come together to work at the Dream Center,” expressed Barnhardt.

He also expressed his gratitude for his staff and the center’s many donors, who he says “financially keep things going.”

Dream Center Bismarck was also recognized today for their Adopt-a-Block food distribution program, where local stores donate groceries that would otherwise go to waste, but instead they are delivered to lower income families.

Barnhardt says his staff of volunteers deliver these donated groceries to around a thousand households a week.

“The Dream Center really embodies community and volunteers. Essentially it’s a community of volunteers that have joined forces with us,” said Barnhardt.

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