UPDATE on Sept. 19, 2024: The next food pick-up will be Saturday, October 19. If you are already on the donation roster, plan to donate this time, and need a green bag……..DO NOTHING!……and a bag will show up on your porch a few days before the pick-up. Fill bag with non-perishable food and put out on your porch BEFORE 10 AM on Saturday, October 19! If you are NOT participating this time, you need to immediately email Nancy Foo at nfoo@sbcglobal.net or text 707-319-6356 so someone doesn’t drop a bag at your house. You will still be on our roster for the future!
If you know of anyone new who would like to participate in this very needed, on-going project, have them contact Nancy! This is the last 2024 pickup date will be October 19. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED GENEROSITY!!!
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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 3,500 pounds of food in just the February and April pick-ups. The next pick-up is set for June 10. To participate next time, simply email your street address and contact information to Nancy at nfoo@sbcglobal.net. She will arrange to have someone deliver a green canvas bag to you a couple days before the pick-up so you can fill it and place it on your doorstep by 10 a.m. on the pick-up date. Future 2024 pick-up dates are August 10 and October 19.
“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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