Food
A record number of people showed up on Thanksgiving to enjoy turkey, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, cake and pie at two Richmond shelters. Among the 30 to 40 volunteers serving meals at the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program was Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris, who spent time at the shelter when he was a child. GRIP and the Bay Area Rescue Mission each served both lunch and dinner to shelter residents, people in encampments, former clients…
This story is part of “The Stakes,” a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders and actions affecting Californians and their communities. It was co-published with Richmondside. A recent Cooking Matters class at the nonprofit Rubicon Richmond began with a bit of show-and-tell. The 10 or so people in the room each shared the favorite foods they ate over the past weekend. Eli Cruz, who was leading the class, tried a Purple Haze latte. Carolyn, one of the students, had…
Karen Ward has been preparing for a lapse in federal food assistance by getting creative with how she stretches a dollar. “You can get a chicken from Costco and make three different things, then I boil the bones to make a broth and then I make a soup,” Ward said. “I get the most out of that $5 chicken.” These days, Ward and her husband, who are both in their 60s, track every dollar, clipping coupons and watching for discounts….
On Sunday morning at The Spot, a liquor store and deli in Point Richmond, owner Tina Kaur said business has come to a near standstill as customers’ food stamp accounts have run dry. Kaur has owned the shop for 15 years, slinging soda, juices, chips, pre-made Indian food and hot dogs, and said in the past few days she’s noticed more shoplifting. “They come, put it on the counter, then grab it and drive away,” she said. Kaur worries her…
Cuts to SNAP has Joseph Agredano feeling anxious. He is one of more than a quarter of a million community college students enrolled in CalFresh, the state’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That assistance has been paused since Saturday, because the Trump administration stopped sending states money during the government shutdown. SNAP funds are expected to flow again soon, after two federal judges on Friday ordered the administration to resume the payments. In the meantime, Contra Costa…
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday at Nicholl Park for the 39th annual Harmony Walk, which aimed to raise $75,000 for the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program to provide hot meals to people in need. The goal represents a $15,000 increase over funds collected last year, as demand for food has grown in the area and is expected to grow even more, because of Trump administration changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that will push many recipients off the rolls. “Our…
It’s nearly noon, and a line of around 50 people is wrapped around the gated parking lot of the Bay Area Rescue Mission’s food pantry in Richmond’s Iron Triangle. Most people have empty bags, some have shopping carts, but all have a laminated number card in hand, denoting their place in line. Those at the front of the line have been waiting for five hours on this Tuesday in October, and the tables laden with food, blankets, hygiene items and…
It’s been almost half a century since Debbie Carrillo’s journey as a home cook began in her mother’s kitchen in Hayward. She and her sister, Deeann Carillo, discovered their love for cooking while learning how to make savory and sweet dishes rooted in their Italian and Puerto Rican ancestry. Last year, Debbie Carrillo lost her job as a cook for a financial firm, where she prepared lunch for 30 to 65 people every day. Before that, she had spent nearly…
When Karla Martinez heard about Richmond’s new Mobile Vendor Program, which allows vendors to set up shop in four markets per week, she hoped it could help her support her family. Martinez had cleaned houses in Richmond before the pandemic but lost many of her clients to financial hardship. She wanted to work in food, so she purchased $1,000 worth of cooktops, restaurant supplies and ingredients to set up her tent selling pupusas and hotdogs. But after nearly two months…