Bread Shed to host diaper distribution day Thursday

The Bread Shed, in partnership with the Diaper Bank of the Ozarks, will start distributing free diapers to needy families once a month.

The first pick up day is 8:30-10:30 a.m. Thursday after a little over a week of set up, Board Member Jim Ward said.

Ward met Diaper Bank founder Jill Bright when both were receiving grants from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks at the end of January.

Ward said the Bread Shed recently received a donation of diapers.

“We had already been distributing diapers, just on our own, not really knowing what we were doing,” Ward said. “We work with Foster Adopt Connect and Haven House a lot. We had stumbled into some diapers; a truck load of them. We had reached out to (them) and distributed them.”

Ward said he started talking to Bright at the event and by the “time I drove home ... we got it all worked out.”

Kelly Paparella, program director with the Diaper Bank, said the organization was already working with Foster Adopt Connect to help foster families in the area with diapers, but working with the Bread Shed will allow them to reach any family in need.

Paparella said one in three families are classified as diaper needy and that has driven the organization to help.

“My role has always been to get out into those hard to reach areas where there might not be as many resources as Springfield, Kansas City or St. Louis,” she said. “I was very interested in getting out into that area especially because it’s not part of our mission to get into the bootheel, but you probably have quite a few people who come from the bootheel.”

Paparella said the Community Foundation of the Ozarks grant will aid them in reaching the more rural communities.

The hope, Paparella said, is that having easier access to diapers will lead to less stress for the families.

“What would make my job complete, which may or may not ever happen, is to find agents to serve specific service areas,” she said. “To know that Butler County is being taken care of not only for the foster families ... they’re also going to be taken care of with the Bread Shed.”

Paparella said Ward has been great to work with so far and both have high hopes for the program.

Every second Thursday of the month, at the same time, families will be able to come to the Bread Shed and pick up diapers. Each will receive 50 diapers per child.