Food
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…
Festive music and welcoming smiles filled the parking lot of the Bay Area Rescue Mission’s food distribution center in Richmond Tuesday, where hundreds of people gathered under a gray sky for the annual turkey giveaway. The Rescue Mission, which provides emergency shelter, fresh meals, warm clothing, and support services to the unhoused and those in need, has upheld this Thanksgiving tradition for over 40 years. Bram Begonia, CEO of the Rescue Mission, said between 500 and 1,000 families would get…
The final crate tapped into place, the truck bed was packed and ready. Inside were all the essentials. Freshly sharpened pruners, a couple of aprons, gloves and sturdy ladders. The checklist was second nature by now, each tool in its slot, each slot serving a purpose. With everything in order, Bruno Lara, the Orchard for ALL! project manager took a moment to survey the packed truck, mentally preparing for the day ahead. Today, it would just be him on the…
Colorful balloons decorated the Corrine Sain Senior & Family Community Center Friday, where close to 200 residents came for the “Food as Medicine Fair,” featuring music, yoga, Zumba, health screenings, raffles, lunch and bags of fresh produce and groceries for people to take home with them. More than 20 community organizations participated in the fair, the first of its kind for the center, providing information on everything from social justice to cancer. Sponsored by the Community Housing Development Corp. in…
The Richmond Certified Farmers Market Association plans to open a new market in Marina Bay Park early next year. “It’s more than a dream now,” said Councilmember and former Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, who represents the Marina Bay neighborhood and has been a key advocate for the market. “It’s a work in progress that we expect to happen in a matter of months.” The Richmond Farmers Market, which has operated the original Friday venue for 40 years, also will be in…
Fine wines from Richmond vineyards, home-baked cakes, and spicy Quesabirria tacos are among the mouth-watering choices at this Saturday’s Taste of Richmond. The event returns after a four-year pandemic hiatus, with 18 local food and drink businesses, and three live music performances from Bay Area artists, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Civic Center. Tickets are $25, giving you five tasty samples; for $49, attendees can have the new VIP experience — 10 samples, a swag bag, and…
Tony Alvarez pulled his SUV into the deserted parking lot before sunrise on a chilly January morning and unloaded two grocery bags, a jar and a backpack from his trunk as he waited for others to arrive. It was 6:30 a.m. and he was expecting 15 people to join him for mushroom foraging in Tilden Park, an excursion people pay $100 to experience with Shroomy Walkabouts, a business he started four years ago in the Bay Area. Participants arrived slowly,…
On any given day in Richmond, 16,200 people go hungry. To bring awareness to food insecurity issues, this month the California Association of Food Banks launched a new statewide anti-hunger initiative called Everyone to the Table. The interactive public engagement campaign encompasses print, social media, radio, online, and TV and can already be seen on billboards across the state and on digital platforms like Instagram and Facebook. The social media format allows people to take part in advocacy through graphics…
A state law mandating organic waste recycling will go into effect in Contra Costa County on Jan. 1. El Cerrito is drawing up plans on how it will implement the law. Organics like food scraps, yard trimmings, food-soiled paper and cardboard make up half of the trash in landfills and are the third-largest source of methane in California, according to California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. To reduce methane emissions, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law in 2016 establishing…