Rooted in Community: Growing Health, Access, and Connection in Franklinton
Sharing a meal has been central to how Make-A-Day works from the beginning. Before a referral, before a form, before anything else, there is food. It is how trust gets built. It is what signals to someone that they belong in the room. For years we have done that work out of parking lots and community centers, showing up with the food truck and setting up tables wherever people already were. Rooted is an extension of that, but with something added. At Franklinton Farms, the meal is not just a tool for engagement. It is connected to the ground, to something growing, to a resource that belongs to the neighborhood and that neighbors can return to on their own. That is a different kind of access than a referral can provide.
Read More
Stability Means Moving Forward
Traditional warming centers are built for immediacy. A place to sleep. A way to get inside. A response to cold. But for people with the highest barriers to housing, a place to sleep is not enough, or not accessible.
In partnership with the Community Shelter Board, Nate Smith Logistics, Mount Carmel and Southeast Healthcare street outreach, and various other service organizations - and funding from our City of Columbus and Franklin County partners - we helped provide a non-congregate winter warming shelter designed specifically for people who could not safely access or remain in traditional shelter environments.
Read More
It Felt Like Coming Home: How Make-A-Day's Dignity Market Became a Pop-Up Staple
Mike and Lisa founded Make-A-Day’s volunteer operated Dignity Market after nearly a decade of serving guests in the Short North. A completely free shop stocked with donated clothing and hygiene items at each one of our Pop-Up Care Villages. For them, the work has always been personal, “I just love seeing people transition into housing. That’s not really our part in it, but I think people need to see people like us caring. I think that’s important.”
Read More
Care Without Conditions: A Recap of Our April 13 Community Wellness Pop-Up Care Village
Milo-Grogan has a long memory. It is a neighborhood that has weathered disinvestment, displacement, and decades of being promised resources that did not always arrive. It is also a neighborhood with deep roots, good neighbors, and organizations like Cultivate CDC that have stayed and built something lasting. Minority Health Month felt like the right time to show up here, with services, for our neighbors, in a community that has been overlooked more than it has been served.
Read More
We're Recruiting: AmeriCorps VISTA Peer Access Navigator
The Peer Access Navigator VISTA member will build the foundation for a sustainable peer navigation model at Make-A-Day. During their term, the VISTA member will map existing referral pathways, formalize partnerships with primary care, mental health, and substance use providers, and develop the training materials, workflows, and data systems that will allow Peer Navigators with lived experience to do this work long-term.
Read More
We're Recruiting: AmeriCorps VISTA Evaluation & Outcomes Coordinator
The Evaluation & Outcomes VISTA member will focus on building and refining the systems that help Make-A-Day Foundation understand and strengthen its impact. During their term, the VISTA member will rebuild donor tracking and stewardship systems, develop consistent outcome tracking across programs, and integrate data from outreach, fundraising, and reporting tools. This role is ideal for someone interested in data analysis, evaluation, nonprofit operations, or systems change. If you are passionate about using data to support work addressing hunger, housing instability, and health outcomes, this may be the role for you!
Read More
Expanding Access: Kicking Off a New Legal Partnership Focused on Clearing Outstanding Warrants
Make-A-Day is excited to share that we are kicking off an expanded phase of our Move the Box initiative through a new partnership with Franklin County. This investment, through the county’s Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison initiative, allows us to deepen and scale the legal navigation work we began in October 2025.
Read More
Move the Box: Expanding Access to Justice on Columbus’ South Side
In Franklin County, expungement is legally possible but often out of reach for residents facing homelessness, poverty, and systemic racial inequities. Through our Move the Box Pop-Up Care Village we brought courts, attorneys, and community partners directly into the neighborhood, helping over 200 guests access support services that move them closer to housing, employment, and long-term stability.
Read More
A snowflake meal: Creating unique experiences starting with a meal
Yes, we’ve heard your requests that Alex and Jesse partner with Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg to release the cookbook to put all cookbooks to shame. I’ve had to turn away Martha’s agents four times just this month.
Read More
Using AI with Intention: How Make-A-Day Is Building Capacity Without Losing Our Humanity
As AI shows up more frequently in nonprofit spaces, it raises real questions about risk, responsibility, and harm, especially for communities already impacted by inequitable systems. Make-A-Day’s AI policy prioritizes transparency, consent, and human oversight, setting clear boundaries to ensure technology never comes before dignity or trust.
Read More
The Best Parts of 2025, Served with a Side of Fries
The new year is often a time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished and look hopefully toward the future. As Make-A-Day has grown so much in the past year bringing on new team members, expanding our outreach sites and programs, and building new relationships in the community, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our favorite moments from 2025.
Read More
When a Meal Becomes a Bridge: How Trust is Built at a Food Truck Window
Many of us take access to quality food for granted, trusting that what we order will be good and knowing we have other options if it’s not. For our guests, free food is often a gamble, and the choice can be between eating something subpar or not eating at all. We realize trust is built with our guests not just in big moments, but in consistently showing up and serving meals made with care.
Read More
A Season of Warmth: When Community Becomes the Heat We All Need
This year’s Season of Warmth Pop-Up Care Village brought together neighbors, volunteers, and community partners in an unforgettable celebration of care and connection, where more than 160 guests found food, warmth, services, and human connection on a cold December afternoon. From haircuts and legal support to winter gear and shared laughter, the event reminded us that community itself can be the heat that carries us through the harshest months.
Read More
More than Resources: The Power of Guest-to-Guest Connection
When John saw a group of men sharing a meal and laughing together at our food truck, he realized he was witnessing the kind of community he'd been missing. Check out this story about how one simple invitation helped reconnect him to a sense of belonging.
Read More
Give Warmth this #GivingTuesday
Fuel more than just items this Giving Tuesday. Funds the moments that make our guests feel seen and encouraged to move towards stability.
Read More
Chilltop Chili and Community: Celebrating Partnership at Hilltop Library
This past Monday, we celebrated a special moment in our ongoing partnership with the Hilltop Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. The Hilltop staff helped us choose the name for the day’s meal, and their winning pick, Chilltop Chili, captured the personality of the neighborhood. It felt creative, welcoming, and full of heart.
Read More
A National Shift in Homelessness Policy Is Coming. Community Care Is Still Our North Star.
At Make-A-Day, we start with a simple truth: people know what they need to survive, to stabilize, and to move forward.
Read More
A Different Donation: What Do Our Guests Really Need?
Donations aren’t just about tangible goods. Sometimes what our guests need most is someone to listen, guide them, and open doors they didn’t know existed. Meaningful support goes beyond items and touches lives in deeper ways. Read more to discover how you can make a difference in more ways than one.
Read More
Announcing 100 Investors in Hope: Keeping Care Close to Home
As federal relief dollars fade, Make-A-Day is calling on neighbors, businesses, and partners to help keep care close to home. 100 Investors in Hope is a community-powered campaign sustaining meals, outreach, and reentry services across Columbus, one day of care at a time.
Read More
Scaling Second Chances: Lessons from the Hilltop Move the Box Pilot
A mom homeschooling her kids at the library saw the sign that said “expungement applications” and whispered, “I need that.” Hours later, she became the first guest to walk out with her expungement process complete.
Read More
