Lots of us probably still have an image of how nonprofit organizations like Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen help feed the hungry. Maybe you also picture down-on-their-luck people lining up in a huge hall to eat cafeteria style.
But that’s simply not the primary model anymore. Loaves & Fishes, for example, is delivering meals where they’re needed, including to other nonprofits, to distribution sites and to homebound seniors and others through the Meals on Wheels and Medically Tailored Meals programs.
That means the San Jose-based nonprofit needs mobility, and it’ll now be able to do more thanks to a game-changing donation from the Summit League. The $310,000 gift — which was delivered Wednesday by Summit League President Liz Ferrari and Peggy Koen and Pam Blackwell — will enable Loaves and Fishes to purchase two new, temperature-controlled trucks.
The specialized vehicles will allow Loaves & Fishes to transport hot and cold meals at the same time and also can be used to pick up food donations. Loaves & Fishes CEO David Hott said the new trucks will be added to its existing fleet and allow them to retire some vehicles that are well past their expiration dates.
“These trucks were really important to Loaves & Fishes,” said Loaves & Fishes Board Chair Shawn Milligan. “We’re really the last-mile connection for food to get to people, and so these trucks will make an amazing difference for us in getting that food out for our community.”
Blackwell and Koen were the co-chairs of Summit League’s “A Day in the Garden With Friends,” a biennial fundraising event that was held in late May at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, featuring San Francisco chef Tyler Florence. The fundraiser was the culmination of a nearly two-year process during which Summit League members narrow down their potential beneficiaries to three, which are then invited to make a pitch to the membership.
Hott’s pitch for a new truck must have tugged at a lot of heartstrings, Koen said, as they raised enough money to buy two trucks instead of one.
HALL OF FAME COCKTAIL: Legendary San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana is making a big splash at Levi’s Stadium this season: on beverage store shelves. The NFL Hall of Famer is pitching the Double Gold, a ready-to-drink cocktail he collaborated on with the Bay Area’s Gold Bar Whiskey.
Legendary 49ers quarterback Joe Montana poses with a can of Double Gold, a new canned whiskey he made in collaboration with Gold Bar Whiskey, at Gold Bar’s distillery and tasting room on Treasure Island. (Courtesy Gold Bar Whiskey)
The cocktail — which comes in 12-ounce cans — are a twist on a “mule” cocktail with whiskey, ginger ale, lime juice and a splash of orange juice (which was Montana’s contribution). It has an 8% ABV, which gives it a little kick but won’t leave you feeling like you were run over by a defensive tackle.
“I’ve never been a cocktail person until I tried this, and it’s just a different twist on a mule,” Montana said in an interview. “It’s a lot more citrusy and so much more refreshing.”
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There’s only one thing about the Double Gold cocktail that Montana doesn’t find refreshing. “I think it looks great, but it has my picture on it, so it ruins it for me,” he joked.
If you’re a Levi’s Stadium regular and this sounds familiar, that’s because the Double Gold is a canned version of the Golden Joe, which is the official cocktail of the 49ers and Levi’s Stadium. If you’re not hanging out at Levi’s, you can find out where to get it at www.goldbarwhiskey.com. Each can has a QR code that can be scanned and redeemed for a throwback T-shirt at Gold Bar’s Treasure Island location.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Niners’ 1985 Super Bowl victory, Gold Bar Whiskey is also releasing a Retro Edition 85-proof straight bourbon finished in wine casks. Each bottle comes with an innovative “Necker Koozie” for cans that looks just like the cold satin jackets Montana and other 49ers — and their fans — wore in the ’80s.
SOMETHING NEW IN SOFA: If you visited San Jose’s arty South First Area (SoFA) for South First Fridays this month, you might have discovered there’s a new gallery in town. Morgann Trumbull Projects has opened a pop-up art space at 445 S. First St. that’ll be hosting a series of exhibitions and other events over the next three months.
There are two shows on display right now: “Ancestral Resonance,” a four-person exhibition exploring ancestral histories and futures, and “Flat File Show,” showcasing works on paper by artists from the Bay Area and beyond. Both shows opened Sept. 5 and will be up through Oct. 11, with a new pair of shows running Oct. 17-Nov. 22. The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, as well as by appointment.
The space is also hosting a community press pop-up shop, with books and other publications available in the “library” in the back. Check it out at www.morganntrumbull.com.
WELCOME RETURN: It was great to see NBC Bay Area traffic anchor Mike Inouye back on the air this week with his “Today in the Bay” morning show colleagues. Inouye had been out since mid-June after he underwent triple-bypass heart surgery.
Inouye said in an interview Wednesday with colleague Laura Garcia that after he felt discomfort in his back and shoulder, his wife recommended he see his doctor. After blood tests, the diagnosis revealed he had suffered a heart attack as a result of serious blockage in three arteries. “The medical expertise was so awesome. For me it was just the easy part. I just had to lay there and have the operation. And then once I woke up for the operation, that’s when the hard part started. And that’s why I’ve been gone for a few months.”
While Inouye is back letting us know the best ways to get around the Bay Area, he’s still in the midst of a12-week rehab program that includes physical therapy and dietary/lifestyle classes with specialists at El Camino Health. Inouye recommends to pay attention to your body — and your wife — if something feels wrong, and head to a doctor.
It’s great to have you back, Mike, and thanks for the advice.