Over the last two months we have continued on with our normal “routine” and haven’t had a hitch or bother from any law enforcement. We were already complying with health preparation and sanitation rules and Amy and I took it one step further and received our charitable food safety managers certificate to show the City of Houston we’re STILL doing our part. Only seven people showed in total – possibly due to the fact it’s voluntary. I’m guessing someone brought a law passed to the Mayor’s/City’s attention so legally she couldn’t force anyone to comply (there hasn’t actually been a single case of food-born illness from charitable feeding reported in Houston, ever!) – just offer food safety education. Back in ’96 the Bill Emerson Act was passed to protect us and anyone wanting to donate food: ‎”The law protects food donors. The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996 protects businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals who donate food in good faith from civil or criminal liability should such donated food later cause harm to a recipient.”~ MCFB. Now, at the class Amy and I were told by both representatives from the City of Houston and the City of Houston Health Department to continue feeding just as we do now, that no was was going to ticket or fine anyone or harass us in any way.   The problem is, now, that this is quite conflicting with the actual ordinance you can read for yourself here. What is a cop going to do after July 1st, enforce the “law” or take our word for it that “those people” told us it was ok? Yeah, riiiiight. So, because of all this confusion both with what we have been told, read, and media fed, we are still at a loss. I can’t even imagine how all of this seems to those that aren’t directly involved. It’s hard for us to even explain. All I really know this is affecting us in the worst way possible. We have lost donors and are running on an empty bank account and straight out of my pocket and food/product donations from faithful volunteers. How can a non-profit operate on basically NOTHING? We had one large donation of $5,000 from the Saint Arnold Brewery back in January and a total of $25 since then. The last two years we have run (by the skin of our teeth) on roughly $13,000 to $15,000 each year and this year has been the most difficult.

As of now we have to step back from our routine and figure out how we are going to work around/with the feeding ordinance that goes in place next Sunday and how to raise funds so that we may continue to help those less fortunate in the Houston and surrounding areas. If you would like to DONATE it would be so greatly appreciated. If you have thoughts or ideas on writing grants and organizing fundraisers please email me at amber.rodriguez@noahskitchen.org so we can start planning! We’ve had an awesome run the last 2 1/2 years and I know this FAR from over, right? =)

Thank you for all of your love and support!!!

The feeding ordinance has thrown up a LOT of confusion to everyone both observing and involved.

IT IS NOW A CRIME TO HELP SOMEONE. 

YES, SERIOUSLY.

Now most of the original requests by the City we have absolutely no problem complying with. We already prepare our food in a certified kitchen, I have my food safety certification, and pass out food within 2 (not 4) hours of preparation (I’ve been in the industry for 15 years, none of these things are new to me). Of course we don’t want anyone to get sick. The issue here is we feed anywhere up to 500 meals in less than 2 hours to Houston’s Homeless Community (along with clothing, toiletries, resources for job assistance, housing assistance, and medical help). We also pass out trash bags and use recyclable bags to hand out our food if possible. I understand how local residents and business feel about the trash and human waste so we are doing our part to leave things cleaner than when we arrived. Now it will be illegal for us to feed any more that 5 people at a time on private property in Houston. And here’s the CRAZY part, the City in which we pay taxes for to have public roads, parks, and well, public EVERYTHING is no longer considered public but PRIVATE. We have to get permission from the City to share a meal with the homeless individual (but it’s still legal to have a bbq with our friends at said places) on the corner  or at the park EVERY TIME. Not because he’s homeless but because he’s homeless on “private” City property. Or we get fined. (Last time I checked City property was public property!)

When I started Noah’s Kitchen 2 1/2 years ago it was so simple. We made some meals in the kitchen (at our house) and went driving around looking for those at corners or under bridges in need of a meal. And then we began to evolve. Finding more friends that wanted to help the less fortunate and becoming more organized. Today we have built a system where we operate under a charity status, follow feeding/health code guidelines, take demographics to better understand who/where we are serving, and do our best to not only feed and clothe, but actually HELP people get off the streets. And now that has become a CRIME.  This was supposed to be easy. And now there is so much red tape just to feed someone who is hungry. Why does this have to be so difficult? The City knows damn well there is no possible way to get permission for people on the move. And never once have I seen one of these large organizations out trying to feed those that can’t get to their shelters… Oh wait, that’s what WE do.

There is a petition available to help us fight this ordinance and we really need your help.  This ordinance represents the City of Houston latest attack on Houston’s homeless population, individuals, groups and organizations that feed or share food with others, and it sets the standard that public property is now private property for which you need the City’s permission to assemble. We need 20,000 signatures – please print it, sign it, have your friends sign it, and send it in to the address on the bottom of the petition!

* FEEDING ORDINANCE PETITION *

Our awesome volunteer Chris Carmona  has made both local and national news speaking on our behalf. I don’t know what I’d do without his voice, as  I work full-time during all these meetings and public sessions. Thank you so much Chris!

I feel the raw story put it best though.. you should read it. =)

By the way… we’re going to fight this ALL THE WAY!

Our February 5th handout we were joined by some very special people. Our volunteer Heather had her parents Mark and Shelly Lewis. They drove all the way from Michigan bringing a truck bed full supplies with them donated by their Church. Talking with Mark and Shelly I understood this was a big change from what they were used to seeing as Michigan doesn’t have much of a homeless problem. I wanted to put into words how this made me feel but I think Shelly’s Facebook post said it most clearly, ” Wow, what a way to round out our vacation! Mark  and I just spent the morning working with Noah’s Kitchen preparing meals and taking them out into the streets of Houston to feed the homeless. What a humbling experience it was. My heart breaks for them all. The gratitude they showed with stay with me for the rest of my life. We took them clothes and gave shoes to a man who was barefoot. I’m crying as I type this because I AM SO OVERWHELMED!!!! Please be grateful for what you have and if you ever get the opportunity, do this in your town. You will not regret it and they will be more touched then you will ever know.” I know what we do is help the  less fortunate but seeing how our volunteers are touched can re-inspire every time.

February 6th I had a meeting with Melany, the store manager of Starbucks in Humble who was interested in coordinating their April community/”giving back” month.  We decided tot set up volunteers for our 3rd annual chili cookoff on April 15th. (Yay!)

 On the 11th my fiance’ and I found out some wonderful news, we’d be adding our youngest “volunteer” to Noah’s Kitchen. We confirmed this on the 13th with my OB giving us a due date of the second week in September. <3 Pretty excited to expand our little family! A little nervous as I am a high-risk pregnancy due to my previous losses but things seem to be going well and over four months in, I’m feeling more and more positive each day.

We had our scheduled handouts of February and at the beginning of March found out some frustrating news. I’m sure if you follow us on Twitter or on Facebook you have seen our posts about the Feeding Ordinance Mayor Parker and Houston is trying to impose on us and every other small organization in Harris County.  I’ve been contacted by Council Member (and lied to) and by news stations as well. I said the same thing to each of them and my feelings on this still stand, “ So after seriously reviewing said proposed “Feeding Ordinance” being voted on this Wed (3/5) It basically states we have to follow strict prepping/feeding guidelines that we can only feed on specified “health dept approved” places, at certain times, only certain parks, with approval each and every time… blah blah blah more RED TAPE… so really, we can’t feed the way we have been or even pass out meals to the homeless on the corners or under bridges (which is how we STARTED and our MISSION – reaching those who can’t get to more “known” feeding areas!) without being subject to “up to a $2000 fine” EVERY TIME. How is it that it has become IMPOSSIBLE for smaller org’s like us to help our neighbors and also become CRIMINALS IN THE PROCESS?! If this get’s passed it may shut US and dozens of other Houston organizations just like us down.”  (Yes I’m very passionate about this!)   Now there have been two public sessions, one vote,  and we are up to have a third session  and second vote Wednesday. There are close to 500 strong who openly stand against this ordinance but from the Mayor stands as of today (4/2), she feels she will win the vote. We have groups, petitions, and hundreds of people gathering to stand against this but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I’m beginning to wonder who the Mayor actually stands for and if there is something more to passing this bill. (Oh yeah, it’s MONEY.)   On our last handout we interviewed several of our less fortunate friends and they gave us their feelings on the Feeding Ordinance being proposed.  We’ll see how this goes.  Wish us luck… 

The 18th I attended the monthly meeting for the Coalition of the Homeless out here in Montgomery county and 19th the training for the PIT count (Point in Time). Both in Houston and Montgomery an annual census is done by volunteers and organizations to try and get an accurate count of the homeless community. This not only helps us get to know the Veterans, Men, Women, and Children that are living on the streets and makeshift “camps”  but also helps with getting grants and government funding to help the city, help them, with  changing their situation whatever it may be. Food, housing, job training, medical help…

The 22nd was quite touching, to say the least. We had both  seasoned volunteers and new volunteers including Chloe and her three daughters. (It’s not that I have become “used to/conditioned” to what we see but maybe in a way, I have.) When new people join us I like to get feedback on their thoughts and feelings and Chloe wanted to show her daughters what life was like for some, outside of their little “bubble”.  I watched the girls observe the homeless and even watch as we helped a young Mom out with diapers, food, and clothing for her three little girls. It could have been them, in a way. Chloe said it was quite an experience for them. For me that’s what it is about. To help the less fortunate and teach those around us, especially our children, how good we do have it and that we should be grateful for who we have in our lives and that we are so fortunate not to be in that situation ourselves. Statistics say the majority of families are 1-2 paychecks away from homelessness and I have watch the number rise from 12,500 in 2010 to 13,000 in 2011, and now 14,000 in 2012. These numbers are saddening but we’ll keep helping in any way we possibly can.

Now on a SUPER BADASS POSITIVE NOTE….  Saint Arnold Brewing Company chose us for the 2ND year in a row to be the beneficiary for their 5th annual One Pot Show Down. I can’t begin to tell you how incredibly wonderful it feels to be chosen not only once but twice.  Such an honor and we’re so incredibly GRATEFUL. Saint Arnold also invited us (Myself and volunteers Jonathan and Frances Parker) out to collect food donations and enjoy the festivities of the day and not only did they raise  $5320 for us but also packed the car from the back to the front to the top of the windows with food and toiletries that will take us out well into the year!!! The funds will help us expand our serving “menu” to include meats and fresh veggies (on occasion) and now make it possible to offer breakfast randomly throughout the year as well. Thank you again so much!  Please enjoy this awesome slideshow Frances and Jonathan put together for us =)

One Pot Show Down

Noah’s Kitchen was founded in December 0f 2009 and we announced our Mission on January of 2010. This January will take us into our third year and I hope to make it more fun, more welcoming, and hopefully more impactful on both the streets and in our personal lives. Noah’s Kitchen will always stay small and do big things. Families, children, classrooms, and church teams are welcome as always and we look forward to working with other organizations too.

One big change coming up this year is we will be branching out into Montgomery County. I have been feeding and reaching out to people here, where I live, over the last few months hoping to learn what’s going on in  my  Community and how we can help.  Montgomery County has a huge need for what we do and I’m hoping by attending the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless meeting tonight, that it will help steer us in the right direction. Also, I think it opens up the doors for more volunteers that aren’t able to make it out to Houston. I’m pretty excited about this. =)

I’m working on getting the events and handouts set up both here on the website and on Facebook as well so stay tuned…  Just know our 1st handout of the year will be on January 8th at Jenni’s Noodle House in the Heights at 9an sharp.

We are looking for new team leaders with serious dedication to our mission and also will be looking for applicants for our board. If you are interested please email me and we can discuss requirements. Also, we are in serious need of a grant writer(s). 

Thank you all for your support and I look forward to another beautiful year of helping the less fortunate with you guys.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Amber and Noah

The Shop Heights 19th Street merchants partnered with us this year as its benefiting charity. Through December 9, the 19th Street merchants collected peanut butter, dry pasta, pasta sauce, new socks, and toiletries.  We also had the opportunity to hang out the night of all the festivities and educate folks on who we are, what we do, and what our goal is: to get the less fortunate off the streets. Because of all the awesome shops involved we raised $47 and 4 totes of food, socks, and toiletries to hand out. Thank you to everyone involved and thanks to Angel and Nichole for volunteering. =)

(I totally got to meet Sancho Clause, lol.)

Click to view slideshow.

Again, Avi, thank you so VERY MUCH! You are AWESOME for supporting us and believing in what we do!

I met with Scott shortly before 5 so we could go over the evening and how things would be run at Jenni’s Noodle House. Amy and James arrived shortly after as well as Allison, Kendall, and Kelly. We had our first team an a pre-shift before the first guests arrived. Most of the regulars skipped counter service and gave us the opportunity to wait on them while educating them about what we do and what our mission is. Though some skipped the tables and both Jenni and Scott filled them in on  what Celebrity Night was and who we were.  (Allison you’re a Monster! :p)  By 7:30 the restaurant was quite full and we had our volunteer shift change and April, Mayra, Angela, Monica, David, and Byron joined us in continuing and finishing up the night. Out of 11 volunteers , 8 were fresh and new faces that hadn’t joined us before. I found that to be super cool because  that means we’re still reaching new volunteers that are interested in being part of helping a growing problem in our community, homelessness. The night died down around 9:30ish and we had the opportunity to go over the evening. We saw a lot of old friends, met quite a few new friends, and in the process raised $884 to help us continue our mission.

I want to extend a special thank-you to Jenni, Scott, Logan, all of the volunteers, the wonderful donors, and those awesome ladies at The Black Sheep Agency. We truly appreciate all of the support that you give us no matter how quiet or loud, little or big. Every kind helps and most of all it means so much to me that you believe in us.

Click to view slideshow.

Jenni’s Noodle House Sponsors Noah’s Kitchen

Vietnamese Restaurant Provides a Celebrity Night to Feed the Homeless

HOUSTON – October 26, 2011 – On November 4, 2011, Jenni’s Noodle House – Heights (located at 602 East 20^th Street) is allocating one night to provide much needed financial assistance to Noah’s Kitchen, a non-profit organization dedicated to feeding the local homeless and hungry in Houston. On November 4^th, from 5-10p.m., Noah’s Kitchen “celebrities,” including founder Amber Rodriguez, will wait tables, accruing tips for their organization. Open to the public, this event represents the first in a series of rotating charity events that Jenni’s Noodle House will be participating in with local charities, providing much-needed revenue as well as event space to community partners.

For the past 10 years, Jenni’s Noodle House has been a proud supporter of both community events and national charity’s and is pleased to count Noah’s Kitchen under its rooster of affiliated charitable organizations. Aligned in both mission and purpose with the charitable organizations that they support, Jenni’s Noodle House aims to not only feed customer’s with healthy food, but consistently sponsor groups that have a direct impact on feeding or nurturing the community or population-at-large.

“Noah’s Kitchen is an organization that mirrors so many things we are passionate about, community relationships, grass roots charitable giving and of course, feeding people in need” said owner Jenni Tran-Weaver. “ Celebrity night is a great way to acknowledge the underappreciated stars at Noahs Kitchen. All tips will go directly to the organization as well as any other donations made by the Noodlehood!”

About Jenni’s Noodle House

Since 2002 Jenni’s Noodle House has shared its noodleisms and funky flavor with the greater Houston area. Owners Jenni and Scott Tran-Weaver should know – they’ve been serving up their yummy, fast and oh-so-tasty Vietnamese specialty dishes and singing Madonna songs every step of the way. For more information, visit Noodlesrule.com or follow them on Facebook (facebook.com/noodlesrule) and Twitter (twitter.com/noodlesrule). 

On the 5th I met up with Debbie who contacted me last month about doing a fundraiser for us. She sells Avon and is super involved in helping different organizations around Houston. She put together a Facebook page and even hosted an event at her home. She presented us with several boxes of food, toiletries, and even a check for $50! Thank you SO much Deb!!!

Wednesday Amy and I met up for drinks before going to give a “presentation” to some of the shop owners on 19th. (Last month I had a small meeting with Sara from Kenektid and three other owners on 19th. They asked us to be their  beneficiary for their annual Holiday party. Uh, YES PLEASE!!!) Amy and I went over the history of NK and the needs that we have right now. Man was that scary, lol.  Seriously though, we’re totally looking forward to the party on December 2nd!

Though I have been off skates for a couple of months my roller derby team, Northside Fury from Spring, joined us in giving back to the community. Hardcore girls with huge hearts! Thank you ladies!!

September 11th was National Service day and we were joined my Richard Orllena and Volunteer Houston for our handout.

As of September 23 we have teamed up with Real Meals 365 to feed the less fortunate on a regular basis as they are so graciously donating healthy meals 1-2 times a week. To date we have served several hundred meals and have also helped feed the Conroe Salvation Army homeless shelter several times and also a youth community in Montgomery county as well.

September 25th we were joined by Kristie Felan and a group of about 20 (and their parents) student council members from pine Forest Elementary in Atascosita. It was the second time they’ve joined us and it was wonderful to meet this year’s group. The kids did an awesome job preparing the meals and even cut shapes/hearts into the sandwiches to show a little extra “love” while they observed their parents handing out the meals. Was a pretty good Sunday.

Something SUPER cool… There is a new organization here in Houston. AWESOME Houston. “The Awesome Foundation – Houston is a group of people that have come together to donate $1000 to community events, local artists, or anything awesome in Houston that is going on.”  They choose someone, anyone, a group, an individual with a great idea  that will be completed within 30 days and give them $1000 to help fund their “project”. We applied for the “grant” using our SleepOut Saturday event and were chosen for the inaugural award! Check out our event that is happening in less than two weeks! Come “sleep with us” or sponsor a team! All donations are tax deductible. Read more here! 

Please vote for us. If we win this will help us fuel our efforts for almost TWO years!!!

http://www.fuelinggood.com/rewardinggood?id=835278

August 5th was a fun evening for us. Our friend Bryan Miller of The Outlaw Dave Show asked us to be the recipient of not only the charity spotlight for the week (for the 2nd time! ) but also their first charity spotlight fundraiser. It took place at The Concert Pub North and we had an amazing night talking with new friends and even raised over $400 to help us in our efforts!  Thank you Bryan, Dave, and The Concert Pub staff!!

August 6th was an event I wish I could have attended but I had to work. Our friend Quan hosted a MSO Road Rally and donated the entrants fee to us. Almost $200 was raised and something so much greater came from it. We made awesome friends, new volunteers, and somehow Quan and one of their attendees did something I NEVER expected. One of their attendees works in the office for Representative Shelia Jackson Lee and had a Certificate of Congressional Recognition sent our way. WOW!

Sunday the 7th our handout went quite well, as usual. We fed a lot of people and ended the day getting a call from our friend Mitch Cohen who is the event coordinator for White Linen Night in the Heights. For the 2nd year in a row he has been so thoughtful to think of us when donating left over water  from the nights event. 28 cases!!! Thank you Mitch!!!!

The last handout of the month on August 21st was very special to me, one of the most touching in a long while. Not only did Quan and the MSO group come volunteer with us and present the Congressional Recognition to our volunteers but we also had a few new additions to the family. Shellee, Kent, and their kids joined us for what I hope is one of many more to come.

When I started Noah’s Kitchen one of the things I said I never wanted to lose as we grow is the one-on-one and personal connection that we have with the people that we meet. It has become difficult at times to do this 100% with the number of volunteers/friends growing on a weekly basis. (This is a good thing though – this week we had 26 volunteers!)

At one of our stops I saw Shellee crying. Behind her, her husband had given the shoes off of his feet to “Edward” and was talking to him. Building a friendship. I sat down too and was silently reminded by both of them why I began and was still doing Noah’s Kitchen. We made plans to bring a care “bag” to him the next weekend – even though a week on the streets is so much longer than most you and I realize. Kent and Edward put my vision back on track, I don’t think they would even understand how much it meant to me.

(Amy and I went looking for Edward for over an hour on the 27th but we couldn’t find him. I still have his care package waiting for him in my car.)

We’ve got some cool things in store for September…  just remember we are always accepting donations and they are GREATLY appreciated and needed right now!

So it’s been about five months now that I’ve juggled Noah’s Kitchen and a full-time job and I’ll tell ya what, it’s not easy. I attempt to make time to blog and I just can’t seen to make enough. So I guess instead of posting every event I’m going to keep you updated monthly. =)

Living in Conroe and traveling to Houston has its limits. The last couple of handouts have only been accomplished with the help of one of our newer volunteer’s Veronica. She lives on my side of town and has graciously donated not only her time but her vehicle to help us get things to and from each meet-up. We have grown (and this is a great thing!) and things just weren’t fitting in the Fiesta anymore. I spent weeks deciding what was the best thing to do (I also ran things by both Mark and Amber who won the car for us in the first place – I think their support on the move is what actually sealed the deal for me. They both put an immense amount of work and time into winning the Fiesta to donate to us.) and after much deliberation we traded in the Fiesta for a vehicle with 5 times more space and comparable gas mileage. We’ve had it for a few weeks now and it’s working out beautifully. We’re also able to get everything we need to the handouts in one trip and in one vehicle. Over all I think it was an awesome decision!

 July 10th we had our volunteer and friend Corbin join us with his Bible study group from Houston First Baptist. What a great bunch of people to get to work with! We look forward to working together with you all soon.

 July 22nd marked the second Food Truck Friday (crawl) and the first of three events where Hillary Hayden kindly donated $1 dollar from each ticket to the event sold. (The following dates were August 12th and 28th.)

 July 24th we had a smaller handout (food-wise) due to the heat. We had a wonderful turnout but were left wondering where everyone hides. We’re on a mission to find out. If you have any ideas please let us know. We are looking to expand our handout areas and your input would help us greatly!

Jenni’s Noodle House in the Heights is out new “home” for a while and our first handout there was awesome. We had a beautiful turnout of 21 volunteers with MANY new face and served well over 400 meals. If this is a glimpse of what is in store for the rest of the year, I’m quite excited!

If you would like to join us in helping others please see our volunteer opportunities  and feel free to join us. Also I can use help here and there throughout the week with other various tasks as everything we do is a group effort.

We are still GREATLY in need of WATER, PEANUT BUTTER, and GAS CARDS.

Thank you Frances Parker for these BEAUTIFUL photos that capture the fun part of what we do. <3

Click to view slideshow.