Chef Joan is still at it.

Each week, Chef Joan Gallagher and her team prepare 600-800 meals for low-income or homeless individuals & families. With ingredients sourced from food banks, she is able to produce meals at a cost of $2 each.

The meals are distributed by our partner, Emeryville's Community Action Program (ECAP). ECAP is a decades-old volunteer food pantry under highway 580, which serves 30 encampments in the East Bay. Joan has also provided for homebound seniors through Catholic Charities and at an Emeryville United School District location. 

Chef Joan has observed that food banks are flush with out-of-date and sometimes spoiled food, or junk food like sheet cakes, or unappealing deli leftovers like pints of cold macaroni salad.  Joan adds,  "and homeless people can't cook an onion. They need nutrient-dense, ready-to-eat meals, and even our to-go containers are useful to them for storage."

You may know Chef Joan Gallagher from her decades catering at Cazadero Family Camp, or at the three Bay Area Independent Schools where she's been serving 400+ meals daily for almost 10 years.  Even before the pandemic, daily overages from the school lunch program went to feed homeless encampments in Oakland or Harrison House (a family shelter with services). 

Thank you for your generosity and support.