UPDATE on April 19, 2025: The next food pick-up will be Saturday, May 3rd! Note the date change because of a conflict with HB Garage Sale! If you are already on the pick-up roster and will be donating this month and need a green bag……..DO NOTHING!……and a bag will show up on your porch in the next few days. Fill bag with non-perishable food and put out on your porch BEFORE 10 AM on next Saturday! If you did not receive a green bag or it blew away, please, just use one or more plastic shopping bags! If you are NOT participating this time you need to immediately notify Nancy Foo …..…nfoo@sbcglobal.net or text 707-319-6356….…so they on’t drop a bag at your house. You will still be on our roster for the future! If you would like to participate in this very needed, on-going project, please Nancy before Monday, April 28.
Important: the Food Bank does not accept glass food containers because sometimes they break and ruin a lot of other packages! If you like to donate pasta sauce…..please buy the canned version!
Chris Anthony who is Secretary for the Hiddenbrooke Food Project passes along these donation tips: Everyone donates Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box. They can rarely use it because it needs milk which is hard to get from regular food banks.
- Boxed milk is a treasure, as kids need it for cereal which they also get a lot of.
- Everyone donates pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles.
- They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies and soup unless you put a can opener in too or buy pop tops.
- Oil is a luxury but needed for Rice a-Roni which they also get a lot of.
- Spices or salt and pepper would be a real Christmas gift.
- Tea bags and coffee make them feel like you care.
- Sugar and flour are treats.
- Tuna and crackers make a good lunch.
- Hamburger Helper goes nowhere without ground beef. Maybe give Tuna Helper.
- Cake mix and frosting makes it possible to make a child’s birthday cake.
- Dishwashing detergent is very expensive and is always appreciated.
- Feminine hygiene products are a luxury and women will cry over that.
- Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing.”
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When Nancy Foo started the Hiddenbrooke Food Project, she was worried that no one would participate. She’s not worried anymore. Over 120 Hiddenbrooke neighbors donated more than 6,072 pounds of food in 2024 which is just over 3 TONS!
“It feels so good when I give back to our community,” says Nancy. “Seeing the donations stacked up after each pick-up is especially gratifying. We are so blessed to be able to live comfortably in such a nice neighborhood with people eager to help. Becky and Randy Olson, Vanessa Nelson, Valinda and Craig Gillis, Jacque Mazutis, Wendy Barksdale, Chris Anthony, Dawn Furseth, and Ed Thomas have gone door-to-door with flyers, distributed empty bags, and/or transported the donations to the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano in Fairfield. Pati Iovanni and Laurie Foster were instrumental in helping with the publicity and ongoing communications.”
Becky Olson adds, “Being part of the food drive effort here in Hiddenbrooke is amazingly rewarding. My initial thought was that ‘of course I’d help Nancy Foo with her project’. That is not what this ended up being. The generosity of our neighborhood to help those less fortunate is such a blessing. However; it’s not just a blessing to those we help by donating, it’s also a blessing to those of us that get to help make the food drive such a success. While my part in working the food drive is small, the personal reward is huge!”
Nancy and her husband Randy are active in community service in other ways. Nancy led a soup kitchen out of her home for 5 years, cooking for the homeless in Vallejo. Randy is a past Hiddenbrooke HPOA board member, and served with his wife on the Welcoming Committee. Also, Randy is the guy who resupplies the dog poop bag dispensers in our neighborhood.
When Nancy first learned about how the Neighborhood Food Project worked in other communities, she knew it would be ideal for Hiddenbrooke. The Project folks put her in touch with the Food Bank where she learned that the donations they receive support Meals on Wheels and other non-profit organizations. Several Hiddenbrooke neighbors volunteer their time at the Food Bank warehouse in Fairfield next to the Jelly Belly factory with food sorting and delivery.
To participate in future Hiddenbrooke Food Project pick-ups, email your address and contact information to Nancy Foo at nfoo@sbcglobal.net. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Food Bank, visit https://volunteer.foodbankccs.org/. To discover how to start a similar food drive in other communities, visit https://neighborhoodfoodproject.org/.
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