Community Dining Facility
AI Generated Concept for Community Dining Facility
There are many facility-focused elements that make up the current concept of the Rescue + Residence Restoration Ranch property. These are not 100% tied to our “Program” categories but are usually tied to some of them. For example, the Veteran Training Facility would be tied to the Personal and Professional Development Program. A quick list of the facilities includes RV Parking Spots, Transitional Housing Cabins, Bathroom and Shower Facility, Ambulance Conversion Workshop, Recording Studio, and a Community Dining Facility.
The overall concept for the Community Dining Space is an outdoor dining area in the covered space between two shipping containers. The containers will be divided into several smaller spaces with door openings facing to the center dining area. Each independent area will have options for grilling and general food preparation. Cold food storage will eventually be added when power and appliances can be added. The center area will have tables and chairs to allow people to come together and eat.
In late 2024, Rescue + Residence applied for a grant opportunity through Matson Shipping. They have a program where they donate used shipping containers to nonprofits around the country. Many go to community sports programs for storage of field equipment. Our proposal regarding using two 40’ High Cube (9.5’ Tall vs. 8’) containers to build a community dining space for our program connected with many in the Grant Review Team at Matson. We were approved for the grant in February of 2025 and were informed to expect delivery in the next couple of months.
However, many months passed by, and Matson struggled to find containers for us at the Long Beach port. We arranged for a volunteer company to transport the containers from the port to our property out in 29 Palms. Big thank you to Get Simple Box for supporting our mission! We coordinated with local construction company Copper Mountain Services to donate the use of heavy earth-moving equipment to clean up the area we planned to build the dining facility on the property.
We coordinated with Pavement Recycling Systems, whose philanthropic arm (PRSH) was one of our earliest grant awards, to donate asphalt millings to serve as the base foundation layer for the containers and dining facility. In November 2025, we won an auction through govplanet.com for a steel, covered garage that will work great to cover the space between the containers when they arrive.
In December 2025, our containers were identified at the port in Long Beach and we contacted Get Simple Box staff to arrange pickup. Due to an internal emergency within GSB, they were unable to go pick the containers up themselves. So, they contacted a transportation partner they regularly work with, and they volunteered their services to transport the containers for us. The Restoration Ranch property is not ready for the delivery of the containers yet. Get Simple Box volunteered to store the containers on their lot until we are ready for them to be dropped off.
Last week both containers were picked up from the port and dropped at Get Simple Box’s lot in Desert Hot Springs, CA. The first was picked up on the 7th and the second was dropped off on the 8th. They will store them for us as we finalize earth moving, asphalt millings, terrain leveling, and setup of railroad ties for the containers to sit on. The project will still have a long way to go even once the containers are sited. We will need to clean them up, paint them, build a deck, set up the covered area… and more.
Stay with us as we continue on our journey to build our organization’s first site designed to help veterans experiencing homelessness chart a new path forward and get a fresh start on life.
AI Generated Concept for Community Dining Facility
