An Unsung Local Hero - A Concord Food Pantry Needs Our Help - Temporarily CLOSED today...

September 29, 2009 - Shelves at The Salvation Army Food Pantry in Concord.

UPDATE: September 30th, last day of the month. The Salvation Army Food Pantry has temporarily CLOSED their doors today.

Why do I work tirelessly as a hunger advocate? Because poverty never ends and donations at local food pantries run out. I support the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano and several member agencies, such as The Salvation Army, Share Food Pantry and Monument Crisis Center. Today, I witnessed something truly heartbreaking. At The Salvation Army Food Pantry in Concord, shelves are nearly bare.

I encourage the community to help feed the thousands of individuals who seek emergency food assistance at The Salvation Army Food Pantry, 3950 Clayton Road (at West Street and La Vista,) Concord, CA 94521, (925) 676-6180.

Please bring food donations. Or call the Lemon Lady (510) 406-1625 for pick up and delivery. Thank you.

On a side note, did you know The Salvation Army is deserving of public attention for their support and generous contribution to the Monument Crisis Center? Public food pantries are excellent resources for the underprivileged in their communities - yet today, the need for food donations is greater than ever at The Salvation Army.

Please let us recognize The Salvation Army who continues graciously and selflessly to help our Concord Community thrive. In my humble opinion, The Salvation Army is a true unsung hero.

State of California
Senate
Certificate of Recognition
Seal of the Senate of the State of California
Presented to
The Salvation Army
in grateful acknowledgement of their support and generous
contribution to the Monument Crisis Center
bringing credit to itself as a business that is committed
to providing food and necessities to low income people
of Central Contra Costa County
The Salvation Army is deserving of public attention having earned the
gratitude of the community and the respect and admiration of
the students and the highest commendations of the people
of the State of California
Presented October 25, 2003
Tom Torlakson
Senator Tom Torlakson
7th Senate District

SHARE Food Pantry in Concord

Lynda and George Conlow

Let me introduce you to SHARE Food Pantry at The First Christian Church, 3039 Willow Pass Road in Concord. CLICK HERE to visit http://www.sharefoodpantry.blogspot.com/, learn more about their food pantry, hours and how they help our community.

George Conlow, President of SHARE Board of Directors and his lovely wife Lynda are only volunteers at the food pantry. Out of the goodness of their hearts, they both came in on Sunday afternoon 6/14/09 to receive my truckload of hundreds of pounds of fresh produce donations.

I had only briefly spoken with George earlier in the week, so I was quite surprised and delighted that they were willing to open the pantry doors on Sunday afternoon to receive this produce. It is not an easy task, and takes several hours of labor to sort and package all the produce for storage and distribution. The entire staff of selfless volunteers at the SHARE Food Pantry deserve our recognition for their amazing dedication to help feed the hungry in our community.

Like other neighborhood pantries, SHARE feeds a large population of area residents. Please keep in mind, you may walk in any garden or store bought summer fruits and vegetables to feed the hungry.

Thank you farmers from the downtown Walnut Creek and Martinez Farmers' Markets: J & M Ibarra Farms, Mee Vang Farms, Swank Farms, Diaz Farms, and Paradez Farms.


"Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles, and kindnesses, and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort."

-Humphrey Davy, (English chemist 1778-1829)

Sunday in Martinez - Farmers' Market, Italian Street Painting Festival, And a stroll along the waterfront...

Sunday Martinez Farmers' Market opens at 10:00am.

The Martinez Italian Street Painting Festival is Sept. 26 & 27. The Martinez Sunday Farmers' Market will be moved to Estudillo St. for one day only on the 27th.

End a day of fun with a stroll along the Martinez Waterfront.

Visit: http://mainstreetmartinez.org/

Too Good To Miss - Free Museum Day, Saturday, September 26th...

Thanks for this Brittney at CBS5 Eye on Blogs!
This is an excellent offer, not to be missed.

http://cbslocalblogs.prospero.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?nav=main&webtag=kpix_eyeonblogs&entry=6780

Glean a Little Goodness in Concord, Clayton, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Martinez...

http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/07/16/caff-gleaning/

The Lemon Lady harvests and delivers fruit to neighborhood food pantries (or county food banks.) If you have a fruit tree, let's get gleaning! Please call or email anytime. Peaches, plums and pears, oranges, lemons, pomegranates, everything ripe under the sun! Children are eagerly awaiting to enjoy freshly harvested, local, seasonal fruit. There is always a need and never enough. All year through. Thank you.

AnnaAndAva@gmail.com
510.406.1625

For listings of County Food Banks in California, please visit: http://www.cafoodbanks.org/

Consumers Challenged To Live On Food Stamp Diet...

Glad to see this post from CBS5.com, encouraging community members to share their stories - The San Francisco Food Bank Challenge.

http://cbs5.com/consumer/food.stamp.diet.2.1198879.html

"Consumers Challenged To Live On Food Stamp Diet

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―

More than 35 million Americans are now receiving food stamps, but can people really afford to live on such a small allowance? It's call the food stamp diet. Politicians have tried it. College kids have given it a shot. Sympathetic Americans wanting to understand what it's like have tried living on a food stamp budget of just $4 a-day. That's the average amount a Californian on food stamps has to spend on a day's meals. The San Francisco Food Bank's 2009 Hunger Challenge is this week - September 20-26. CBS 5 ConsumerWatch reporter Sue Kwon takes on the challenge and will file reports everyday this week documenting her experiment that we hope will put a spotlight on hunger. If you're taking on the Hunger Challenge we would like to hear about it. If you are on foodstamps and have budget stretching ideas or want to share your thoughts, please share them with CBS 5.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)"

By the way, have you visited the California Association of Food Banks lately? Check it out: http://www.cafoodbanks.org/

24 Hours of Fun - Color Your World...

This is super cute! I may be The Lemon Lady, but my favorite past time is loving The Lemon Lady Junior. Crayola has a website where you can upload digital photos and easily create your very own coloring page. Fun. Just a few clicks, and voila!

The code you'll need for free 24 hour access compliments of Parents Magazine: PR24QCHT.

Color your world...lemon yellow, cherry reds, plums and purples, peaches and cream. Happiness and sunshine.

Pleasant Hill Community Service Day, Saturday, September 26, 2009...

SEPTEMBER 26 Pleasant Hill Community Service Day. Local residents will be collecting non-perishable food for the Food Bank on this annual Community Service Day. To be a part of this event go to

http://www.pleasanthill.ca.gov/index.aspx?NID=514 then click on Food Bank to sign up.

Pleasant Hill Farmers' Market
Saturdays, 8am - 2pm

The Lemon Lady Delivers!

In serving Contra Costa County's most needy, I shall participate in the Pleasant Hill Community Service Day by collecting produce donations at the Pleasant Hill Farmers' Market on Saturday, September 26th.

All produce donations received that day will be delivered to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, 4010 Nelson Avenue, Concord, CA 94520 (925) 676-7543.

Thank you Contra Costa Certified Farmers' Markets and the generous farmers of the Pleasant Hill Farmers' Market. Your weekly donations to feed Contra Costa County's most needy are greatly appreciated!

Small Farmers Give So Much To Our Community. Please learn about their challenges...

Please read the reports...about "Bridging the Gap" that put additional pressure on small farmers.

Here are some links to read.

http://www.iatp.org/iatp/press.cfm

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/

This is another level of helping.

Thank you kindly.

KPFA 94.1, About Health - September 14, 2009 at 2pm

About Health - September 14, 2009 at 2:00pm

Click to listen (or download)

What an excellent broadcast! There are so many great community groups, urban gardens, sustainable environment enthusiasts here in the Bay Area. This is definitely a program well-worth listening to.

The Lemon Lady was mentioned today on KPFA FM 94.1, it was a gardening/organic/green type of program, called 'About Health'. http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/54580

46:25 in the show Lemon lady is mentioned.

I know Marty! Marty is a wonderful individual who jumped on board with enthusiasm to help The Lemon Lady grow seedlings for donation to several community gardens around Concord, California. It is dedicated volunteers such as Marty who make this world a better place! The Lemon Lady is honored to have you for a friend. Thank you for your help over the past few months. Happy Gardening. Let's get growing!

Marty - if you read this, please call me. :)

Food Bank CONCORD - TODAY, Sunday, September 13th, 2:30 - 4:30pm

Contra Costa warehouse

4010 Nelson Avenue, Concord, CA 94520

(925) 676-7543

From the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Blog:

Calling All KidsAre you a kid who has wanted to volunteer at the Food Bank warehouse and just aren't old enough? This weekend there is no age limit of 11 years old at the Food Bank and we are inviting ALL AGES to come to our Open House and Family Volunteer Day. Learn more about the Food Bank and how we work while also helping to get produce ready for distribution. We will have activities for kids of all ages!

Please join us:

Sept. 13: Open house and Family Volunteer Day, Food Bank Concord Warehouse. No reservations required. Drop in between 2:30 and 4:30.

Kids you can also join Flint from Sony Pictures' Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in becoming a Hunger Helper - someone who finds ways to fight hunger in the community. Become a Hunger Helper today by making your own bookmark and even writing to your Congressman.

Food Bank Open House - Saturday in Fairfield, Sunday in Concord...

From the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Blog:

Calling All Kids
Are you a kid who has wanted to volunteer at the Food Bank warehouse and just aren't old enough? This weekend there is no age limit of 11 years old at the Food Bank and we are inviting ALL AGES to come to our Open House and Family Volunteer Day. Learn more about the Food Bank and how we work while also helping to get produce ready for distribution. We will have activities for kids of all ages!

Please join us:

Sept. 12: Open house and Family Volunteer Day, Food Bank Fairfield Warehouse. No reservations required. Drop in between 2:30 and 4:30.

Sept. 13: Open house and Family Volunteer Day, Food Bank Concord Warehouse. No reservations required. Drop in between 2:30 and 4:30.

Kids you can also join Flint from Sony Pictures' Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in becoming a Hunger Helper - someone who finds ways to fight hunger in the community. Become a Hunger Helper today by making your own bookmark and even writing to your Congressman.

The Lemon Lady Delivered $60,000+ of fresh produce to hunger relief organizations

When life gives you lemons...take them to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano or a neighborhood food pantry.

Hunger is far from over.

Sweet orange smiles, bitter melons, bushels of beans, tons of tomatoes, zillions of zucchini, crates of cucumbers, corn, yellow as the sun, piles of peaches, peppers, pears, peas, everything local, long days, fun days, adventure, apricots, loquats, laughs and grapes, raisins, eggplant, purple, white, round and long, red berries, blueberries, green berries, carrots, cilantro, celery and basil, green from the earth - friends and farmers along the way have made it possible for The Lemon Lady to deliver over $60,000+ worth of fresh produce to local food pantries in Contra Costa County. Bet ya never thought a few lemons could turn into such a worthwhile project!

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
-Michelangelo

Did you know there is a Whole Grains Council?

The Whole Grains Council is having an "I Love My Whole Grains" photo contest? You can win some really neat prizes, a cookbook collection, free food, a professional chef to cook a week's worth of whole-grain inspired meals.

The Lemon Lady found a cute one of The Lemon Lady Junior. Be inspired to cook whole grains for better taste and healthier living!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW:

Title: Whole-Grain Banana Bread at The Tea Party

Sweet Hostess couldn't wait for her tea party to begin before sampling the delicious, healthy desserts! Whole-grain banana bread crumbs scatter the white table cloth. Yummy!

Local Foods, Local Tastes. At the Contra Costa County Library...

It's too hot to work in the garden today. We're going to the library!

From the Contra Costa County Library website:

Celebrate the food and the local restaurants that make the Bay Area such an appealing place to live. Want to eat more healthy and support local farmers? Interested in eating more foods that are locally grown? Check out ingredients and cooking styles from this diverse selection of food books that all have ties to our local surroundings.

http://ccclib.org/checkitout/localfoods.html

Free education at our local libraries, and new books too. If you haven't already visited the online library catalog, you're in for a real treat. Check it out!

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!