Newsletter - 7-01-08

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

It's small. It's blue. It's special. It tickled my fancy the moment I walked through the door on a cold December day for Food Runners first ever pick up at Bar Jules in Hayes Valley. "I must bring my husband here the next time we go out to dinner," I thought while admiring the sleek bar which featured a glass pedestal bowl filled with tangerines that set off the turquoise back wall to perfection. Having worked in fine restaurants in San Francisco for more than twenty years I rarely find myself excited about new places. Rooms, menus and trends all blend together with stand outs being few and far between. Bar Jules stood out. Everything about the unassuming, intimate space felt relaxed, inviting and effortless. "I'm looking for Mateo," I announced to the young woman stirring a pot of something wonderfully aromatic atop the stove in the tiny open kitchen. "I'm from Food Runners," I continued. "Oh, great," she smiled. "Thank you for coming. I'll get him." A moment later, Mateo appeared and shook my hand in welcome. "What I have for you is chicken that's been simmered for stock and strained. It's in small pieces, but it's very good and could be used in soup or stew." Mateo spoke softly in a lilting unidentifiable accent. "I'll just get it packed for you," he said before retreating through the swinging kitchen door. I waited. And waited. Packing the chicken turned out to be a bit of a challenge because no one could locate a disposable container. Not surprising knowing what I now know about Bar Jules and their eco-conscious policies. Bar Jules Chef/Owner Jessica Bonecutter has a stated commitment to sustainable practices in all areas of daily operations including avoiding plastic bags, aluminum foil and other types of disposable food storage aids. In addition, she carefully crafts her delectable dishes from seasonal, local, organic ingredients. The menu, which changes daily and never consists of more than three appetizers, two salads, three entrees and two desserts is posted on large chalkboards rather than printed on paper. Instead of generating waste from packaged water, Bar Jules offers filtered tap water in glass bottles. How refreshing. After ten or so minutes, Mateo finally appeared carrying a milk crate lined with a plastic like wrap that looked to be biodegradable and made from vegetable product. Inside were approximately 20-25 pounds of fully cooked, nutritious chicken shreds n' morsels perfectly suited, as Mateo stated earlier, for use in stew or soup. Since December, Bar Jules has provided this same donation once or twice a week on a consistent basis. That's up to 50 pounds per week of nutritious food that might otherwise be thrown away. Pretty impressive when you consider that Bar Jules has a seating capacity of 38. It may be small. It may be simple, but beyond the delicious menu and cozy, comfortable room, donating to Food Runners proves just how special Bar Jules really is.

Food Runners picked up and delivered 112,315 pounds of food in the month of June. Volunteers performed 741 runs and the truck did 233. Food Runners acquired 2 new donors and 11 new volunteers this past month. Have you been whooping it up at any street festivals this summer? Have you been there at closing time and noticed the Food Runners volunteers collecting leftover food? Many thanks to Carnival, the North Beach Festival, the Haight Street Fair and the Gay Pride Festival for donating excess food to Food Runners. Way to be green and help thy neighbor. Food Runners volunteers will be on hand throughout SF street festival season to shuttle food donated by festival vendors to local shelters.

Is your favorite neighborhood restaurant throwing food away? Tell them about Food Runners. Maybe they will be inspired to follow in Bar Jules footsteps.

For more information on Bar Jules, visit their website at www.barjules.com.

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