MELBOURNE, Fla. – A soup kitchen feeding more than a hundred people every day is set to close in just two months.
Following a unanimous vote Tuesday from the city council in Melbourne, the closure of the Daily Bread will be much sooner than previously planned.
For months, News 6 reporters have shown how the nonprofit is transitioning to building apartments for homeless people, called Providence Place.
After a lot of complaints about where Daily Bread is now, near downtown, those plans to move are being sped up.
Executive director Dr. Jeffrey Njus said Daily Bread is prepared to close within the next 60 days, as dictated by the council’s approval.
“It’ll be a challenge to move forward more quickly, but we’ve been planning to do this already,” Njus said. “And accelerating the process, it’s gonna be OK. No one’s gonna fall through the cracks.”
Tuesday’s council vote approved the establishment of Providence Place, which is expected to feature up to 120 affordable housing units designed to help those experiencing homelessness transition to more safe and stable housing.
Njus said during the two-year gap between closing Daily Bread and opening apartments that will be built for homeless people on Apollo Boulevard called Providence Place, his team will serve the community through mobile outreach like food trucks.
“This is a change that is 6 years in the coming. It’s time for us to move ahead with a model that’s going to be more effective to really address homelessness and the housing crisis in our community and we’re ready to do it,” he said.
The shelter along Fee Avenue will close on May 9 and the new complex is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
One woman who eats at Daily Bread told News 6 reporter James Sparvero she was concerned about closing too soon.
“When it’s gone, we’re not gonna have somewhere where we can go and get a hot meal, or a shower, or clothing,” Maddie Moran said.
Njus responded that outreach will be scattered throughout the community, not just on Fee Avenue where Daily Bread is now.
“We’re meeting people at different sites throughout the city, and that will continue,” he said.
Njus said working with the city, including the agreement voted on Tuesday, will have a positive impact on all of Melbourne.
“I’m confident,” he said. “It’s been a real partnership that should benefit the whole community that’s facing the challenge of homelessness.”
Even before the council voted Tuesday night at city hall, Daily Bread was already starting to prepare to phase out its services.
They’ve announced that beginning in just two weeks, they won’t be open on weekends anymore.
