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January 2012 Hunger Continues Even After the Holidays Contra Costa’s Food Bank Answers the Daily Call By Jody Morgan Hunger is a problem every day. The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano helps 132,000 people each month – a 35% increase over the past two years. How well do seasonal food drives meet the needs of the 180 partner agencies? What happens when the flood of donations hits the warehouse? Is there a time when the cupboard goes bare? The mix of hunger-stricken local residents is hitting Food Bank volunteers close to home. Lisa Sherrill, Community Relations Manager for the Food Bank, spends time in the field meeting with both beneficiaries and distributors of the
Renee Baptiste, Joseph Stockdale, and Rob Luger rotate barrels at a recent Food Drive.
Food Bank’s regular programs. Volunteers, she reports, are finding their neighbors in line for groceries or hot meals. “If that person is one paycheck away from the situation, maybe I am too,” they are realizing. Lisa has talked with many folks working three jobs and still finding they don’t have enough to cover basic family needs. Do you pay for the gas to get to work or the shelter over your children’s heads? Senior citizens are balancing budgets that don’t include sufficient funds for both medications and food. Eighty-nine thousand of the individuals receiving aid are residents of Contra Costa County. Scouting for Food kicks off the holiday season with a pre-Thanksgiving collection by local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts netting an average of 150,000 pounds of food in a single day each year. Neighborhood, supermarket, school, and church holiday food drives bring in about one million pounds. Local members of the National Association of Letter Carriers took in 173,000 pounds during this year’s annual collection on May 14, 2011. Interviewed midway through a workday that began at the Concord warehouse at 5am and would end at the same location about 7pm, Renee Baptiste is passionate about her work. Baptiste is on hand day after day for all of the neighborhood collections. Overseeing the rotation of full barrels being loaded on the Food Bank’s big truck with empty barrels being dispatched to collection sites, Renee is confident that even in this down economy 2011 donations will exceed 2010’s records. Non-perishable comestibles are weighed at the close of the day. Monetary donations continue to accumulate well into January. The Food Bank distributes over one million pounds of food each month. The major seasonal food drives provide about 10% of the overall supply. When
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Serving the Lafayette Community Jay Lifson 2012 Marquis Business Person of the Year This might soften the sting for his wife and three daughters who, rumor has it, had trouble recognizing him recently. This is not because Jay shaved his beard, but because his work and community service take so much of his time. Born in 1954, Jay was raised in Beverly Hills, California and immediately took a liking to good food, eventually starting a restaurant career with Bob’s Big Boy, home of “steaks, shakes and pancakes.” In 1982, Jay bought and operated the Rocking Horse Jay Lifson Restaurant in Lafayette. After selling the restaurant in 1988, Jay worked as Director of Food Service for the Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa and later opened Bing Crosby’s Restaurant as General Manager. He also spent 10 years as General Manager and Training Director for Hungry Hunter Restaurant. Jay took over the helm of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce in 2005 as the Executive Director, and his leadership has been exceptional. Since 2005, the Chamber’s revenue has increased 65%, and membership has increased 42%. This success has been vital in allowing the Chamber to continue its role of promoting business and enhancing the quality of life in our great city. There seems to be few Planning Commission or City Council meetings that Jay doesn’t attend. In the early morning hours you might not recognize the guy fixing the strand of twinkle lights on Mt. Diablo Blvd. that went out the night before, but that’s also Jay. And if you’re a business needing help with a governmental matter or a government official needing assistance solving a particular problem for a business, Jay is the one to call. Jay was on the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
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Lafayette Girl Scout Troop 32790 completed their Silver project by collecting enough donated items to create over 40 baskets to raffle off at the annual International Refugee Committee Feast. Every family was able to take a basket home. The 11 Girl Scouts collected donations from family members, neighbors, classrooms, and a variety of other sources. Additionally, the girls were responsible for creating and facilitating an art/craft table for children ages 2-20. They brought supplies for coloring, making friendship bracelets, and assembling fridge magnets. The families and children were so happy and thrilled. These Lafayette Girl Scouts helped make the world a better place while they were gaining courage, confidence, and character in the process.
Volume V I- Number 1 3000F DANVILLE BLVD #117 ALAMO, CA 94507 Telephone (925) 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 editor@yourmonthlypaper.com Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher The opinions expressed herein belong to the wriers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Lafayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.