A Donation in Remembrance of a Homeless Woman

Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa (LFCC), which prepares daily hot meals for the hungry in the county, received a $2,500 donation in honor of Ulla Lacey, a popular Martinez homeless woman who died on a near-freezing night in a downtown parking lot this past winter. The money was collected from downtown businesses and from individuals, including from the closely-knit Martinez homeless community itself.

On a typical weekday more than 200 hot meals are served in the LFCC dining room, located in the local Baptist church. Everyone is welcome, no questions asked, to the daily hot meals, which are prepared in the LFCC kitchen in Pittsburg. Clients at a recent lunch, many among the working poor or living on fixed incomes, remembered Ulla as a generous and light-hearted free spirit who ate at the dining room herself on occasion.

“She was my friend and confidante,” said Henry Tollick, recalling his ten-year friendship with Ulla. “She
made the rounds, knew all the merchants, and gave everything away. She was a smart woman, too.”

Fawn Fleming, who was having lunch with her daughter, said Ulla was an inspiration to her. “If she had an extra dollar she would give it to the next person. She also had little trinkets, and gifts to give. She was quite a character.”

Tollick agreed. “She was like the Queen or the Ambassador of the town.”

Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa is a non-sectarian non-profit agency devoted to feeding the hungry. Demand for its hot meals nearly doubled over the past year as the recession spread through all parts of the county.