Culinary Angels

CULINARY ANGELS' MISSION IS TO PROVIDE NUTRIENT-RICH MEALS AND NUTRITION EDUCATION TO THOSE GOING THROUGH A CANCER CHALLENGE AS WELL AS THEIR CAREGIVERS.

TWENTY TWENTY-ONE WAS ANOTHER INCREDIBLE YEAR FOR CULINARY ANGELS! WE INCREASED OUR MEAL COUNTS BY OVER 40%, ATTRACTED MANY MORE DEDICATED AND PASSIONATE VOLUNTEERS, AND OBTAINED VALUABLE FUNDING FROM OUR GRANT SUPPORTERS.WE STARTED OUT WITH COVID CHALLENGES AGAIN FOR OUR ORGANIZATION, BUT THIS TIME MANY OF OUR PROCESSES WERE ALREADY IN PLACE TO NAVIGATE COVID AND CONTINUE TO DELIVER MEALS TO OUR RECIPIENTS. IN ADDITION, WE OPTIMIZED THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR VOLUNTEERS BY ADDING MULTIPLE SHIFTS TO ALLOW FOR FEWER VOLUNTEERS IN THE KITCHEN AT THE SAME TIME. WE ALSO CREATED A "SAFE TO RETURN" DOCUMENT FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP THEM CONTINUE OUR SAFE AND CAREFUL PROTOCOLS AROUND COVID.THE YEAR BEGAN WITH A SIGNIFICANT MOVE FORWARD WHEN WE MOVED FROM OUR KITCHEN IN LIVERMORE TO A NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART, COMMERCIAL KITCHEN AT IRBY RANCH IN PLEASANTON. WE COOKED, PLATED AND DELIVERED OUR FIRST MEALS THERE ON JANUARY 6TH.WE BROADENED OUR DELIVERY REACH WITH THE ADDITION OF TWO NEW COMMUNITIES-SAN RAMON AND DANVILLE, AS WE CONTINUED TO DELIVER TO OUR EXISTING CITIES OF LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON AND DUBLIN. THE AREAS ALONG THE 680 CORRIDOR NOW MAKE UP ABOUT 57% OF OUR DELIVERED MEALS.ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH FERTILE GROUNDWORKS AND SUNFLOWER HILL, WE HAVE ALSO ADDED TWO LOCAL FARMS, CLARE'S FARE AND FLORESCENT FARM. THESE TWO NEW FARMS FOLLOW SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC AND/OR REGENERATIVE FARMING PRACTICES. IN ADDITION, WE BEGAN AN INVALUABLE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LIVERMORE FARMERS MARKET, IMPLEMENTING A BI-WEEKLY DONATION DRIVE WHICH PROVIDES ACCESS TO A BROADER RANGE OF FRESH, ORGANIC, SEASONAL AND LOCAL PRODUCE. AN ADDED BENEFIT WAS A GREATER PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE AND OFFSETS OUR COSTS.WE INCREASED OUR VOLUNTEER FAMILY BY 65 VOLUNTEERS FOR AN OVERALL TOTAL OF 128 ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS. WE DIGITIZED THE ONBOARDING AND COMPLIANCE PROCESS AND ADDED THE COMPLIANCE COORDINATOR ROLE TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS. WE CONDUCTED ZOOM MEETINGS FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS TO GIVE THEM AN OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION TO CULINARY ANGELS. THIS YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO HOLD OUR ANNUAL VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION DINNER, CALLED GRATITUDE AND GUACAMOLE, OUTSIDE. MONY NOP DONATED THE VENUE AND FOOD AND OVER 75 VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATED. IT WAS A GREAT FEELING TO BE ABLE TO GIVE BACK TO OUR VOLUNTEER FAMILY.ALL LEADERSHIP ROLES HAVE BEEN CROSS TRAINED TO ELIMINATE ANY INTERRUPTION OF OUR SERVICES. THE CROSS-TRAINING AND THE ADDITION OF SIX LEAD ROLES HELPED MAKE COVERAGE EASIER AND SMOOTHER WHEN NEEDED.IN AUGUST WE WERE HONORED TO HOST A DINNER BASED ON OUR CULINARY PHILOSOPHY THROUGH THE ROTARY CLUB OF LIVERMORE, THUS EXPANDING OUR FOLLOWER AND DONOR BASE.OUR DECEMBER HOLIDAY MEAL DELIVERY CONSISTED OF A RECORD-BREAKING 124 MEALS TO OUR ENTIRE RECIPIENT FAMILY. THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH THE SUPPORT FROM PATELCO CREDIT UNION AND OVER 50% OF OUR VOLUNTEERS. NOT ONLY DID WE HAVE THE KITCHEN CAPABILITIES TO HANDLE THIS NUMBER OF MEALS, BUT WE DELIVERED A NUTRITIOUS AND FESTIVE MEAL TO OUR RECIPIENTS AND THEIR CAREGIVERS.OUR FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY WAS IN NOVEMBER, AND WE HAVE SERVED A TOTAL OF OVER 8086 MEALS. IN 2021 ALONE WE SERVED 2786 MEALS. CULINARY ANGEL'S RECIPIENTS RECEIVE A MEAL TWICE A MONTH WITH OUR VOLUNTEERS WORKING FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVERY WEEK. VOLUNTEERS INCLUDE SHOPPERS, FOOD LABEL PRODUCTION, VEGETABLE PREP-TEAMS, SOUP PRODUCTION TEAMS, COOK TEAMS, BAKING TEAMS, DISHWASHERS, PACKAGING TEAMS, DELIVERY COORDINATORS AND DELIVERY DRIVERS.