05/05/2025
"Because no one should have to choose between eating and surviving."
At Roof 25, food is one of our greatest priorities. Guests are always offered a nutritious dinner meal, as well as a breakfast meal and accessible snacks are always out.
Roof 25 has a Meal Train that allows members of the community to prepare a meal. Please see the link below if this is something that interests you: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/31vnr8
Today we recognize a critical but often overlooked reality: food insecurity and malnutrition are deeply intertwined with substance use and mental health challenges.
At our harm reduction site, we see firsthand how hunger and unmet basic needs can drive people deeper into cycles of distress and substance use. Starvation and malnutrition are not just issues of access to food—they are part of the broader social determinants of health that include poverty, housing instability, trauma, and systemic marginalization.
When someone doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from, it's much harder to focus on healing, recovery, or wellness. Substance use can sometimes become a way to cope with the pain of hunger, isolation, or the daily struggle to survive. This is why harm reduction must go beyond just addressing drug use—it must also meet people where they're at, with compassion, food, warmth, and dignity.
On this International Day Against Starvation and Malnutrition, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting the whole person. That means making sure people have access to food, shelter, connection, and non-judgmental care.
Because no one should have to choose between eating and surviving.