Feel Good Friday - St. Mary's Food Bank

It’s the first Friday in September, which means it’s also National Food Bank Day. A perfect day to learn more about the organization that started it all, St. Mary’s Food Bank.

Founded in 1967 by John van Hengel and headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, St. Mary’s Food Bank is the world’s first food bank! Their mission is “bridging the gap for Arizona communities with nourishment for today and hope for tomorrow.”

As they explain on their website, food insecurity is a problem for 2 million Arizonans, which includes 1 in 5 children. To address this issue, St. Mary’s Food Bank provides food at no cost to over 900 partner agencies across Arizona. These include organizations such as food pantries, homeless shelters, meal centers, domestic violence shelters, afterschool programs for at-risk children and low-income senior living centers.

The programs run by St. Mary’s Food Bank and their partners include food distribution through both food banks and home delivery, child nutrition programs that provide healthy meals to children in daily after-school programs and during the summer, and a skills center that provides tailored job training in the culinary and foodservice industry as well as the warehouse and logistics industry.

Working with their partner agencies, St. Mary’s Food Bank distributes over 300,000 pounds of food each day. In fiscal year 2023, the total was more than 123,000,000 pounds of food, which is the equivalent of 93,000,000 meals! This food has been a lifeline for so many families across Arizona. You can read individual stories at this link.

If you’d like to support St. Mary’s Food Bank on National Food Bank Day, or any other, there are many ways to do so. People in Phoenix can volunteer their time and the rest of us can donate our money. Everyone can raise awareness by engaging on social media. Follow St. Mary’s Food Bank on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel. 

Feel Good Friday - The Town Kitchen

It's been two months since I posted a Feel Good Friday story about Oakland so it's about time I told you another tale from the Town.

The Town Kitchen is "a community-driven food company that employs and trains our youth by delivering chef-crafted meals to corporate clients." 

Founded in 2015 by Sabrina Mutukisna and Jefferson Sevilla, the Town Kitchen provides underserved youth (ages 16-24) with fair-wage jobs, healthcare and job training programs. About half the employees are foster youth. That's important because Only 50% of children in the foster care system finish high school, making it harder to find employment, and 20% will experience homelessness during their first year on their own.

The Town Kitchen is located in East Oakland and 75% of employees live in the community. When they deliver meals in the wider Bay Area, it gives them increased responsibility beyond the kitchen and exposure to corporate environments. When they first started, the Town Kitchen was delivering 20-30 meals a week, now they deliver 700 - 2,000 meals a day!

Get a glimpse inside the kitchen with Chef Sevilla and the employees in this short video.

If you'd like to support the work of the Town Kitchen you have many delicious options. Go to the website to order lunch for your office or fill out this form to book catering for your next event. You can also show the social media love by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @TheTownKitchen.

Feel Good Friday - GRID Alternatives

Happy Summer Solstice! It's the longest day of the year and we're celebrating with an organization that's focused on solar and renewable energy, GRID Alternatives.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Oakland, California, GRID Alternatives is "working across the United States and internationally to make renewable energy technology and job training accessible to underserved communities." They are the nation's largest nonprofit solar installer serving families in California and beyond.

GRID targets communities impacted by underemployment, pollution and climate change. They partner with affordable housing organizations, job training groups, government agencies, municipalities, utilities, tribes and local communities to make using solar energy a win-win.

GRID provides job-seekers in the community hands-on training opportunities by teaching them to install no-cost solar for people in low-income households. They also drive renewable energy policies at the state and local levels, develop and implement shared solar projects and make electric vehicles more accessible. You can read specifics of all their programs here.

Their efforts have made a big impact: 14,561 households served; 42,054 participants trained and 930,636 greenhouse gas emissions prevented.

You can get involved with GRID Alternatives by becoming a partner, a volunteer or by making a donation. Stay in the loop by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @GRID. Let the sun shine!