Lumina Project Serves Carl's Ice Cream at the Bloomington Salvation Army

Thursday, September 24th, 2026

This past week, we had the chance to return to the Bloomington Salvation Army for a small community food distribution event, serving ice cream from Carl’s Ice Cream to around 25 residents. It was a simple afternoon, but one that helped us continue building trust, listening closely, and staying present with members of the unhoused community.

Returning to a familiar community space

This visit marked our second time hosting a food distribution event at the Bloomington Salvation Army. Last month, the Lumina Project visited the same location and catered lunch from Avanti’s Italian Restaurant.

This time, the event looked a little different. Instead of a full meal, we brought a sweet treat for residents to enjoy together. Our team served 3 gallons of vanilla ice cream and 3 gallons of chocolate ice cream, creating a relaxed setting where people could stop and talk.

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Gratitude to Carl’s Ice Cream

We are especially grateful to Carl’s Ice Cream for making this visit possible. Their support helped us bring a small moment of comfort and connection to residents at the Bloomington Salvation Army.

Partnerships like this allow the Lumina Project to remain active in the community in ways that are consistent, approachable, and responsive. Sometimes care looks like a health resource. Sometimes it looks like lunch. This time, it looked like vanilla and chocolate ice cream shared on an ordinary day.

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Continuing to show up

This event was small, but it reflected something central to our mission: staying connected.

The Lumina Project will continue looking for ways to support residents through both practical resources and meaningful community engagement. We are thankful to the Bloomington Salvation Army for welcoming us back, to Carl’s Ice Cream for helping make the event possible, and to every resident who took the time to speak with us!