Newsletter - 10-01-07

Dynamic Duo

John and Marcia. Marcia and John. John goes everywhere with Marcia. Marcia goes everywhere with John. It makes perfect sense. John and Marcia are one of those couples that just feel right together. They are similar in build, both being trim and fit; close in age, both being in years somewhere between receiving their AARP card and retirement; alike in personality, both being friendly and kind. Marcia's merry, hazel eyes dance when she talks. John's soft, blue-eyed gaze holds steady. Marcia's beautifully coiffed, shoulder length pageboy compliments the St. John style knit suits she favors. John always looks sharp in well pressed khakis topped with crisp, striped shirts. John and Marcia have been married for seventeen years. They have been Food Runners volunteers throughout their entire marriage. It all began in 1989 when Marcia attended a Rotary event at which she noticed leftover food heading for the garbage. Concerned about hunger and waste, she called Food Runners which she'd only just read about the day before in The Chronicle. From the moment the Food Runners volunteer arrived to pick up the food Marcia had saved from the trash, Marcia was hooked. She spent the next ten years or so dispatching for Food Runners every Tuesday in addition to performing food runs all over town with John at her side. When Food Runners hired a full time dispatcher, John and Marcia continued to run food together on a weekly basis. Three years ago, John and Marcia moved to Half Moon Bay. For John, it was time for a change. He'd lived his entire life in San Francisco from boyhood through the many years he served as a battalion chief for the San Francisco Fire Department. The move south didn't stop John and Marcia from doing food runs, however. Every Tuesday, they hop into their Buick Park Avenue and wind over highway 92, turning north up 280 to spend the day volunteering in their beloved San Francisco. At afternoon's end, they treat themselves to a ninety minute massage before heading out on a food run to Le Colonial Restaurant on Cosmo Place where they pick up one large steam tray full of rice and another filled with whatever scrumptious meat infused dish Chef Joe concocts that day as his contribution to Food Runners' planned overage program*. John and Marcia then drive down Nob Hill to the Tenderloin where they deliver the food to the Shi Yu Lang Central YMCA youth program for low-income teens. Marcia says that the best part about doing a regular, weekly food run is the relationships that develop from seeing the same people week in, week-out. After a while, it isn't just anybody smiling back at you anymore when you arrive. After a while it's personal. After a while it's family.

Food Runners picked up and delivered 113,435 pounds of food this past month. Volunteers performed 812 runs and the truck did 225. Please welcome new donors Ti Couz Restaurant, L'Altelier, Seller's Market and La Boulange on Cole. Also welcome new volunteer Brian G. How do you like this new Food Runners website that you're reading right now? It's grand, don't you think? Are you planning a catered event over the holidays or know a friend who is? Don't let the caterers toss the excess food because they don't know what else to do with it or think they can't donate it. Tell them about Food Runners. Donating to Food Runners is safe and it's legal. If you insist, they will follow.

Happy Halloween,

Nancy

* Restaurants participating in Food Runners Planned Overage Program prepare and donate a main course for 25-30 people, once a week, specifically for Food Runners to deliver to a shelter.

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