Newsletter - 8-01-08

One Upping Robin Hood
by Marjorie Leet Ford
(This article was originally written for and appears in this month's issue of the "New Fillmore" neighborhood newspaper*)

Like Robin Hood and his band of merry men, Mary Risley and her crew of Food Runners take from those who have much and give to those who don't have enough. It all started when she realized she had a problem at Tante Marie, her cooking school. Her student chefs couldn't eat as much as they cooked. Tante Marie had too much food—really good food—while people all over San Francisco were hungry. One day Risley found herself with five wedding cakes. She took them to Glide Memorial Church, and Reverend Cecil Williams nearly fainted. Another Sunday, she took him seven boned ducks stuffed with pate. Then she got the idea for Food Runners. It started small in 1987 in her little Victorian just off Alta Plaza Park. She and some friends in the restaurant world devised a way to deliver about 50 pounds of food a week to people who needed it. Now, two decades later, Food Runners delivers more than 20,000 pounds of food each week—and sometimes, a whole lot more. Every time there's a street fair, there's a truck load. After the last Bay to Breakers race, the harvest was 2,000 pounds of edibles; later that day, Food Runners picked up a second ton from a catered event. Such feats take a substantial network of volunteers. At first there were few enough that Risley could coordinate the pick ups and deliveries from her home. Now there are over 250 volunteers. Theoretically, there are two paid employees, volunteer coordinator, Nancy Hahn and a truck driver—except that he's no longer driving, so now Hahn drives the monster growling, "I am woman, hear me roar!" The shiny white truck was donated by the UPS Foundation. Another supporter, Chuck Williams, founder of Williams Sonoma, is a major supporter and many others contribute as well. The businesses that give food—restaurants, hospitals, hotels and markets—also benefit, financially and otherwise. One big downtown hotel saves $750 a month by donating used ingredients and unserved dishes. Otherwise it would pay a penny a pound to compost it or 5 cents a pound to have it taken by the trash collector. The lift in employee morale is another benefit. When a Food Runner steps in, the parking valet, the dishwasher and the person flipping pizzas leap to open doors and hoist cartons into the car. Grins stretch faces and many say, "It's great what you’re doing." Between the lines they're saying "it's good what we're doing." Every day Mary Risley and her band of merry Food Runners get 2,000 meals to citizens of San Francisco who otherwise might not eat. Somewhere, Robin Hood is smiling.

* Click here to see the August issue of the "New Fillmore" newspaper.

Food Runners picked up and delivered 121,250 pounds of food in the month of June. Volunteers performed 836 runs and the truck did 253. Please welcome new donors, Imeem, Nopa Restaurant and Dish Cafe. Food Runners acquired 6 new volunteers and 2 new recipients this past month.

Concerned about being green and doing the right thing? Isn't everybody these days? Tell your office, your local restaurant, grocery store and bakery about Food Runners. We're such a simple, productive solution to hunger, waste and composting. Be sure to mention that Food Runners is a free service. Safe and legal too!

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