We are coming home! Pittsburg Free Dining Room to open July 7th

Twenty-seven years ago things were very different and yet eerily still the same. In 1983 Pauline Brisbin and Lucy Zendaez saw a family rummaging through a dumpster in Pittsburg looking for food. The two women decided to do something instead of turning a blind eye. They recruited some volunteers and began making meals at the kitchen of Saint Peter Martyr Church in Pittsburg. That was the beginning of what was called Loaves & Fishes of Pittsburg. Today, some 3,400,000 meals later, Loaves & Fishes of Contra Costa (LFCC) returns to the Pittsburg community with a new free dining room. Saint Vincent de Paul (SVdP) and LFCC formed a partnership to build a 2,000 sq. ft. dining room, specifically for the purpose of feeding the hungry of Pittsburg. And the dream will be reality on July 7!

In fact, we never really left Pittsburg at all,” noted LFCC executive director Michael Baroman-Coggins. “Our central catering kitchen has been headquartered here in Pittsburg since 2001, and we did have a dining room in Pittsburg for a number of years.”

About 18 months ago an idea was born to create a long-term partnership between SVdP and LFCC. The goal: to produce a state-of-the-art dining room to feed the hungry a hot nutritious meal. This is an especially strong partnership because of the added benefits that SVdP brings to the table. Saint Vincent de Paul is also building a new free medical clinic in the same building. Furthermore, through Catholic Charities, they also offer onsite referrals for food, clothing and shelter. This building, the dining room at 1415 Simpson Court and the SVdP Thrift Store at 2210 Gladstone, will be a one-stop shop for many of the people who need these services. The building is located just off E. Leland at Gladstone and right behind Wal-Mart.

“It seemed like only a few short weeks ago we were holding a ground breaking ceremony,” said Baroman-Coggins. “We are now just two weeks from serving hot nutritious meals for our guests in this wonderful new dining room.”