Assistance League of Diablo Valley's Food Boxes Program Receives 'Hands-On' Support From Walnut Creek City Officials

PHOTO from left: Liz Payer, Darcy Smith, Matt Huffaker, Walnut Creek City Manager Ken Nordhoff and Zaneta Luna fill Food Boxes with chapter members Sally Ryan and Joanna Smith.

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By Betty Miller (Star Patcher)

Established in 2012, Assistance League® of Diablo Valley’s Community Programs includes seven programs that meet a range of community needs. Food Boxes is one of these programs whose members purchase food items and everyday necessities for individuals and families who are in crisis.

In preparing for an Easter feast, Food Boxes Chairman Joanna Smith and committee members coordinated the most recent event by selecting such nutritious items as canned hams, tamales, pinto beans, macaroni and cheese, green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, soup, spam, tomato sauce, pasta, pears, peaches, canned chicken, peanut butter, jelly and cereal. Every day needs such as laundry detergent, dish soap, toothpaste and bath soap completed the inventory. Once delivered to the chapter house in Walnut Creek, these items transformed its large conference room into an assembly line workplace.

The next phase involved the chapter’s Corporate Partners Program, which enlists hands-on and financial help from members of the business and civic communities. On March 18, Corporate Partners Chairmen Lesley Salo and Linda Mercer were on hand to greet Walnut Creek City Manager Ken Nordhoff, as well as four other city employees. Following Vice President Philanthropic Programs Sally Ryan’s overview, the civic-minded volunteers effortlessly broke down cartons, assembled boxes, and filled 60 of them with the above mentioned items in two hours’ time. Bottom Line: With the help of Walnut Creek city officials, Assistance League of Diablo Valley continues to put “Caring and Commitment into Action.”

The third phase, distribution, engaged the Contra Costa County Services Integration Program who, with the help of CAL WORKS, delivered 30 filled boxes to both Richmond and Bay Point Family Service Centers, a mere 30 minutes from Walnut Creek. The entire process went beyond providing an Easter feast. While the food obviously abated hunger, it celebrated a community awareness and support that nurtured at a deeper level.

To learn more about the Corporate Partners Program, please visit the website: diablovalley.assistanceleague.org, or phone 925-934-0901 and ask for Lesley Salo or Linda Mercer, Corporate Partners Committee Co-Chairmen.

To learn about Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s other philanthropic programs, funded by its thrift shop in Lafayette, and its recently awarded GuideStar Exchange gold participation level status, please visit this website: diablovalley.assistanceleague.org or the GuideStar Exchange.

Be sure to check out other recent news from the Assistance League of Diablo Valley:

Hop To It- Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop’s Annual Little Girls’ Easter Dresses and Easter Merchandise Event!