HELENA — Amy Adams and her non-profit Amy's Mess provide nourishing meals for families with school-aged kids facing homelessness.
Amy's goal of helping others sparked from an email she received from her child's school.
"In the email, it talked about homeless students and you kind of know that goes on in Helena, but until you see it in your face I was just like wow. It just really spoke to me," Adams says. "I was like I know I can do something. I just know it."
Amy started helping families on her own for two years and officially launched her non-profit as a 501C-3 in September. She connects with the homeless liaison at Helena Public Schools to better understand student needs.
Last year Amy's Mess provided around 1,000 meals to those in need.
Sometimes her work is as simple as bulk snacks delivered to local schools other times it can include cooking full meals for the families she helps.
" I like to know the demographics of the kids, are they doing sports? what are their ages? And of course, I always ask if there are allergies or anything like that," Adams says.
Families on the Amy's Mess list receive warm meals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
There are resources in Helena to combat food insecurity but not in a way that always supports everyone's situation.
Adams says, "It is great they can get food, but they do not have a way to do anything with it, so they do not always get the food that they can get because they cannot do anything with it, so that's when I said I can feed them."
Those who want to help people can sign up to cook a meal on the Amy's Mess Website.
The non-profit's work is not just about making sure people don't go hungry but also bridging gaps to provide people with a better future.
"Until it is brought to people's attention they do not really realize the need. Since this coming to light these gaps that I am filling everyone is like wow," Adams says
Monetary donations can help with laundry, hotel rooms, and toys too.
