Bay Area food bank races to meet holiday goal of funding 3 million meals
CONCORD, Calif. - There was a flurry of activity inside a Concord warehouse on New Year's Eve.
It wasn't an end-of-year celebration but the winding down of a more important clock.
"We're feeling hopeful. We're feeling nervous but hopeful," said Caitlin Sly, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
She said the nonprofit continues to serve the needs of tens of thousands of families in Contra Costa and Solano counties.
The current holiday challenge of raising enough funds for 3 million meals ends at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31 but will pay dividends well into 2025.
"During the holiday season, we raise about half the money that sustains us for the whole year," she said.
An army of volunteers worked two-hour shifts to sort dry and canned goods and produce to make its way to 70 pickup sites in the two counties.
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"I'm paying it forward. At some point, I may need it. Somebody I know may need it. It's something to do that I feel good about doing and that I can do," said Charlene Clark, a food bank ambassador who volunteers 20 hours each week.
Self-professed do-gooder Stacey Sutter retired as an EMT, and on Tuesday, she worked the phone to call and thank donors personally.
"I get the 'feel goods' when I have been here. And I know that I have spent time that will bring value and nutrition to people in my community that I will never even see," said Sutter.
Officials with the food bank hoped the good feelings would be contagious and others would either volunteer or donate so that food continued to flow freely in the new year.
"We need the community to help us meet that challenge," said Sly.
As the deadline approached, officials said they were about $500,000 from their goal, which equated to a million and a half meals. Donation and volunteer sign-up information can be found on the food bank's website.