About Daily Bread

Daily Bread’s mission is to ensure no one faces hunger or homelessness alone.

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What began in 1988 as a humble soup kitchen serving 14 meals on its first day has grown into a vital community lifeline. Each year, our Fee Avenue Outreach Center in downtown Melbourne has provided nearly 50,000 hot meals and 15,000 showers, restoring dignity and hope for thousands of our neighbors experiencing homelessness.

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Over more than three decades, we’ve learned that food, hygiene, and compassion are only the first steps. What people ultimately need is a safe, stable place to call home.

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The need has never been more urgent.

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Brevard County’s 2024 Point in Time Count revealed a 37% increase in unsheltered homelessness over the previous year—an 87% increase since 2022. Chronic homelessness is on the rise, and racial disparities are deepening: Black, Brown, and Indigenous individuals are entering homelessness at twice the rate of their White neighbors. In the City of Melbourne alone, about 250 people sleep outdoors each night.

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The root cause of this crisis is a lack of affordable housing. A one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne now rents for $1,408 on average. A person earning minimum wage must work 77 hours per week to afford it without being cost-burdened. Fewer than 1% of available rental units are priced below $1,000, while the vacancy rate hovers near a tipping point at 6.1%.

Daily Bread has seen firsthand how access to affordable housing changes lives. Between 2019 and 2021, our team helped nearly 400 individuals transition from the streets into stable housing. But as housing availability declined, that number fell sharply—down to just 40 in 2022, and similarly low in 2023 and 2024.

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We are responding with bold, systems-level solutions.

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Our Board of Directors approved the development of Providence Place—120 units of deeply affordable, permanent supportive housing for individuals who have been unsheltered long-term in Melbourne. Each unit will include a private bathroom, kitchen, and supportive services designed for long-term stability. Learn more about Providence Place here.

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But Providence Place alone will not meet the scale of the need. That’s why we’re investing in the growth of another cornerstone of our mission: the Daily Bread Food Distribution Network.

Daily Bread’s Food Distribution Network is a county-wide response to hunger and homelessness that builds on our 37-year legacy while reimagining how care is delivered. Through a dynamic web of mobile food outreach, co-managed pantry operations, and partnerships with 30+ local pantries and meal sites, the Food Distribution Network connects thousands of individuals and families to the food and care they need—wherever they are. Current partners include Meals on Wheels, South Brevard Sharing Center, Ascension Social Concerns, the Salvation Army, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

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This strategic shift includes the planned closure of our Fee Avenue day shelter on May 9. But this is not an end—it’s a launchpad. We are transitioning to a fully mobile service model that allows us to reach more people more efficiently and flexibly. With food trucks, case managers, and Streetside Showers, we will continue meeting people’s immediate needs for food, hygiene, healthcare, and emotional support—while offering real pathways to housing and long-term healing.

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The Food Distribution Network represents the next generation of hunger relief: collaborative, mobile, responsive, and rooted in dignity. Together, we can build a food-secure and housing-secure future for all who call Brevard County home.