We Need Your Help! (that says it all)
July started the new financial year with Loaves and Fishes of Contra
Costa (LFCC) adding two new dining rooms and staff to expand service to
fill the explosive need in the community fueled by the recession. We
took this measure in anticipation of donations reaching a certain
level. However, donations have remained shallow this summer.
Individual donations are down and we can sure use your help
At Loaves & Fishes we do many things for the community. We feed
our clients a hot nutritious meal to revive the body and the soul. We
offer a safe, comfortable and dignified place to come and enjoy that
hot meal. We offer our volunteers the opportunity to feed their souls
while being of service to someone who needs and truly appreciates them.
You can help us purchase items we need for our kitchen and dining rooms
Do you want to help Loaves & Fishes, but you are not sure what we need? Would you like to purchase an item and have your company name placed on a sponsor plate? Here is a list of items that Loaves & Fishes needs to purchase in the next six months:
• $3,000 for
a new weatherized roll up door for our catering kitchen. PG&E has
donated $2,000 towards the $5,000 cost of this project. This new door
benefits to LFCC by keeping cold air out during the winter months and
cool air in during the summer months, thereby reducing our energy costs.
• $7,200 for two new freezers for the catering kitchen to replace two units that are old and in need of major repairs.
• $ 9,000 for a new water heater, replacing our ten-year-old unit that is deteriorating.
• $ 3,600 for an ice machine for the kitchen. The current unit was beyond repair and disposed of.
• $ 5,200 for tables and chairs in the new Pittsburg Free Dining Room.
•
$ 5,500 for various small-wares items for the new Pittsburg Free
Dining Room, including carts, trays, cups, mats, trash cans, and
kitchen equipment.
For the big-ticket item, we also need a new large commercial truck for meal delivery. The corporate donor would in turn receive space for their logo on the new vehicle. This would provide significant exposure as the truck travels East County in Contra Costa Monday through Friday for six hours a day.
Loaves & Fishes expands to meet the demand for services in Contra Costa
When hunger shows its face in a community, Loaves & Fishes studies the area to see if there is a need for a dining room.
Eighteen months ago we started conversations with Saint Vincent de Paul’s about the needs of the hungry in Pittsburg. These talks led to a partnership, resulting in a privately funded, 2,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art dining room adjacent to Saint Vincent de Paul’s Thrift Store.
For the Community Baptist Church, it all began about thirteen months ago when our operation manager, Carol Babcock, attended an Interfaith Council meeting and was introduced to two ladies from the Community Baptist Church in Bay Point, CA. Their conversation centered on the churches desire to feed a growing hungry population in Bay Point.
Pittsburg Dining Room feeds a family in need on the “first” day.
July 6th was to be the last day of making preparations to open our new
joint partnership dining room with Saint Vincent de Paul. The plan was
to do another soft opening day and just feed the staff in the building
and the construction workers on site. This was our way to practice for
tomorrow’s opening to the public. When word gets out and people show
up, Loaves & Fishes (LFCC) needs to be accommodating.
Announcing the Grand Opening of our new Pittsburg Free Dining Room
The joint partnership of Loaves & Fishes of Contra Costa (LFCC)
and the St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVdP) of Contra Costa County held
a Grand Opening ceremony at our new 2,000 sq ft, state of the art, free
dining room located at 1415 Simpson Court, off Gladstone Drive at E.
Leland Avenue. The new dining room is located on the Simpson Court side
of the SVdP Thrift Store in Pittsburg.
Contra Costa Times covers our return feeding guests in Pittsburg. Read all about it!
Urgent need for Volunteers at our Bay Point Site
The Community Baptist Church at 62 Bella Vista Street in Bay Point is
in urgent need of volunteers to serve lunch. Volunteers are needed
Monday through Friday 10:15 am to 1 pm. Volunteers will help set up,
serve lunch and clean up. Community Baptist Church is a small Church in
a very deserving and needy community. We would appreciate volunteers
who are able to serve on a weekly basis, but any commitment is
welcome. Up to four people are needed daily. Please contact Rodger
Jensen, our Volunteer Services Manager at- rodger@loavesfishescc.org or call him at 925-708-4257.
National Charity League (NCL) helps provide the Summer of Youth
Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa (LFCC) is feeding more children of
needy families. What you may not be aware of is how the National
Charities League (NCL), teams of mothers and daughters volunteer their
time and efforts to help LFCC in the summer months. Summer means
vacations and time away for many of our legacy volunteers who may use
the hot summer months to relax with children and grandchildren. When
our faithful legacy volunteers schedule summer vacations, the NCL has
traditionally stepped in to help fill the shifts needed at our dining
rooms.
Our “Plank Owners”
Being an old navy man, an old “salt” so to speak, our Executive
Director Mike Baroman-Coggins sometimes uses a colorful phrase from his
past as a cook on two nuclear submarines in the U.S Navy. He referred
to Betty Searway’s group, which took honors as the opening crew on our
Grand Opening day as “the Plank Owners.” No one, of course, knew what
Mike was referring to other than Mike. So some explanation is in order.
Have an emergency? Call AAA
When I have an emergency with my car, I have a back-up plan: I call
AAA. At Loaves & Fishes, when we need help on a holiday, who do we
call? AAA, of course.
Loaves and Fishes featured by Lesher Newsmaker Speaker Series
Loaves and Fishes will be featured as a non-profit partner in the
Lesher Newsmakers Speaker Series. The Speaker Series is currently
sold-out, but please visit the site to see the LFCC story. The LFCC
evening is September 15, 2010 with guest speaker Peter Greenberg, a
noted travel expert. The Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation has
provided the opportunity to make attendees aware of Loaves & Fishes
and our mission to Feed the Hungry.
Click here to see the LFCC story.
Kaiser Permanente helps Loaves & Fishes THRIVE!
The popular Kaiser Permanente commercials end with the wish that its
members-THRIVE. Kaiser Permanente puts their ideas into action, and
has helped Loaves & Fishes clients to thrive with a donation of
$15,000 from the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Fund. Kaiser
Permanente was recently honored for this generous donation at the Grand
Opening of our new Pittsburg Dining Room. This donation will be used
for much needed food and supplies to help feed the hungry in our dining
rooms, one of five dining rooms that the Kaiser donation will help
support. Kaiser Permanente has been a strong supporter of Loaves &
Fishes over the years and we appreciate all that they continue to do on
our clients behalf.
Pittsburg Free Dining Room funders honored
On a bright and sunny July 15th morning over 150 supporters of both
the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) & Loaves & Fishes of
Contra Costa (LFCC) took time out to join the partners for the Grand
Opening of their new joint operation Pittsburg Free Dining Room. A
large part of the ceremony focused on the foundations and individuals
who raised the money to build the dining room.
The Lesher Foundation makes a $100,000 commitment to our Pittsburg free dining room
Stepping up to meet the needs of the local community has is always
been the goal of the Lesher Foundation, and the organization has always
been an avid and generous supporter of LFCC.
In the Spring of 2010 the Lesher Foundation took the lead role in supporting our partnership efforts with Saint Vincent de Paul by granting $100,000 for the construction of a new, specifically designed dining room for the hungry in Pittsburg.
The HEDCO Foundation helps to feed the hungry of Pittsburg!
As they have done so many times before the HEDCO Foundation has supported Loaves & Fishes of Contra Costa (LFCC) in the building of a new dining room in Pittsburg. The HEDCO Foundation has supported LFCC over the past decade when the need arises. To date HEDCO has donated funds to build the central catering kitchen in Pittsburg in 2001, purchased a new van to deliver meals in 2004 and in May 2010 The HEDCO Foundation contributed $19,855 towards the purchase of commercial kitchen equipment for the new Pittsburg Free Dining Room.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company Helps Loaves & Fishes Go Green
On April 30, 2010 Loaves & Fishes received a grant for $2,000 from Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The grant was made specifically to fund our program to green our operation footprint and improve energy efficiency in our Pittsburg catering kitchen. The grant will go towards the purchase of a new energy efficient rollup door for the kitchen, which will keep cold air and dust out of the kitchen during the winter and with weatherized stripping, keep warm air out of the kitchen in the summer months.