When you make a purchase, buy a pound or two extra and donate it at the “Giving Fresh” table. Volunteers will deliver it the same afternoon to the food bank, where families, seniors and other clients will receive a portion as part of a three-day emergency food supply.

The Farmers Market takes place at Cesar Chavez Park at 10th and J Streets on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Besides fresh produce stands, plenty of vendors of delicious prepared food and beverage items are on hand so you can enjoy lunch in the shady park. (Cherries are a hot item right now!)

Flo Aegerter, a volunteer, braved the hot sun to ask passers-by, “Have you heard about Giving Fresh to fight hunger?” Fellow volunteers Rachel Chavez (Flo’s daughter) and Joe Lenihan say that the farmers’ market is only in its second week and people are still learning about the opportunity to donate.

As of 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, approximately 30 shoppers had donated 161 lbs. of fresh produce, including a few flats of strawberries.

“I love doing this so much,” Flo says.

Giving Fresh was started in 2011 as a collaborative effort between Senior Gleaners, Downtown Partnership and River City Food Bank.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, May 2, 2011         

WHAT: The River City Food Bank is hosting a “Tilling and Tithing” day at their new location to garner community support in planting tomatoes and other seedlings to grow for their clients.  Experienced gardeners and newbie volunteers alike will join together to plant rows upon rows of produce to be harvested to feed the hungry.  This day will also mark the completion of artist, Kerri Warners, mosaic mural on the building.

In addition, the first thirty volunteers to arrive will get to take home a tomato bush to plant in their own edible garden!

WHEN: Saturday, May 12, 2012- 9am-2pm

WHERE: Volunteers will meet at River City Food Bank’s new building at 1800 28^th Street in Sacramento.

WHO: “Tilling and Tithing” will bring together volunteers from all over the region to contribute to planting River City Food Bank’s edible garden.

People in the Sacramento region who are not interested in gardening or who cannot attend “Tilling and Tithing” can contribute by simply donating $25, $50 or more to the food bank.  It is important to remember that hunger never takes a vacation and often the summer time is the busiest time of the year for the food bank.

BENEFITING: Last year, Growing Circle brought in over 51,180 lbs. of fresh produce. With need up by more than 10% (and still rising) the food bank hopes to receive 57,000 lbs. this year. In thanks, volunteers who grow and donate more than 10 lbs. of produce will receive a special “Growing Circle” t-shirt.  When volunteers wear it, the food bank hopes they’ll be reminded of the gratitude of the families who are fed by River City Food Bank.

River City Food Bank is the only Sacramento-area food bank open every weekday to anyone experiencing hunger, from anywhere in Sacramento County. River City Food Bank offers nutritionally-balanced 3-day emergency food as well as shelter assistance and compassion.

MORE INFORMATION:  For more information about River City Food Bank, please visit www.rivercityfoodbank.com. Media can contact Elise Crispen at 916-442-1394 (o) or 619-857-8212 (c).

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Even if you’ve never grown a zucchini or tomato in your life, we hope you’ll get involved in fighting hunger this year by planting an extra row or planter of vegetables to donate to River City Food Bank. Home gardeners, farmers, schools, places of worship, youth and community organizations, and area businesses can all help make a difference for our neighbors in need.

Here’s how:

Plant an extra row of veggies in your garden, or glean fresh fruit from your backyard orchard (or a neighbor’s) and share the extra with us.

If you’re not a gardener, you can still help. Simply make a donation of $25, $50 or more.  Hunger never takes a vacation and our need is great during the summer.

You can also help by mentoring newbie gardeners if they have questions. Let us know if you’d be willing to take a few calls or receive email questions.

Sometimes life happens in spite of rather than because of what you do or don’t do.  We see that in our in-take cubicles at RCFB every day.

Recently, one of our volunteers was helping a woman with a very “unhappy” toddler.  The little girl was whimpering when she came in, and after a few minutes in the lobby, despite the toys and books, she launched into full blown wails.  When she entered the interview cubicle, out came the raisins, the fruit rolls, a juice drink and finally a handmade cuddly puppy.  It was the puppy that made the difference.  The tears dried, arms encircled the pup and there was peace.

It was only after the family left that the volunteer could explain the problem.  The little girl had just been taken from her mother who was battling addiction.  She was taken to her maternal aunt who already had three children of her own and was in desperate need of food for all of the children.  That toddler’s life was completely turned upside down through no fault of her own.  Will she remember her trip to the River City Food Bank?  Probably not, but somewhere in her soul she will remember “kindness” and “comfort.”   River City Food Bank gives that out along with tuna and peanut butter.

The Smashing of the Bowls:
River City Food Bank Kick Starts Their Mosaic Murals Masterpiece with a Collective Bowl Smashing Event

WHAT:

In conjunction with the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, River City Food Bank in Midtown is hosting a “Smashing of the Bowls” event to kickoff the activities leading up to the creation of the building’s interior and exterior mosaic murals.  Volunteers from all over the region will join together to smash the leftover “Charlie Brown” bowls from last month’s Empty Bowls event to contribute to this public beautifying project.  The bowl fragments along with donated kitchen kitsch items will compose artist, Kerri Warren’s, mosaic magnum opus on the exterior of the building and will be used to decorate precast planters and some interior walls of the food bank.

The gathering will also consist of a special unveiling of Kerri Warren’s highly anticipated rendering of the exterior mosaic mural.

WHEN:                                    

Friday, March 30, 2012-4pm-7pm

WHERE:

Volunteers will meet at River City Food Bank’s new location at 1800 28^th Street in Sacramento.

WHO:

The Smashing of the Bowls will bring together volunteers from all over the region to contribute to decorating River City Food Bank’s new facility.

People in the Sacramento region who cannot attend the bowl smashing event can contribute to the mural by simply donating small kitchen items (six inches or less), such as bottle caps, food canister lids, forks/spoons, kitchen-related toys, and other creative kitsch items. River City Food Bank, however, will not accept alcohol related entries.

BENEFITING:                          

This event is part of the larger public beautifying effort that supports the creation of art in public places to benefit the Midtown community as well as all families that rely on River City Food Bank for sustenance.

River City Food Bank is the only Sacramento-area food bank open every weekday to anyone experiencing hunger, from anywhere in Sacramento County. River City Food Bank offers nutritionally-balanced 3-day emergency food as well as shelter assistance and compassion.

MORE INFORMATION:

For more information about River City Food Bank, please visit www.rivercityfoodbank.com. Media can contact Elise Crispen at 916-442-1394 (o) or 619-857-8212 (c).

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The move to the Sacramento Convention Center, and the sponsorship of Classique Catering, gave Empty Bowls planners the opportunity to spice up the Monday evening supper event and arrange the room to create an easier flow.

Event co-chairs Beth Foondos and Betsy Myers are pouring over the comment cards to see what people thought about the new venue.

What did you think of Empty Bowls 2012? Email us your comments and suggestions: email@rivercityfoodbank.org

Eileen and her team is busy totaling ticket sale and sponsorship revenues to see if the fundraiser made its goal of raising $125,000. Come back soon and see!

Check out the fun photos of the supper and luncheon events. We bet you’ll see someone you know!

Venue Changed to More Spacious Convention Center

SACRAMENTO, Calif; (February 29, 2012) -Empty Bowls, River City Food Bank’s largest annual fundraiser, will be held Monday evening, March 5, and Tuesday lunchtime, March 6 in a new location, the Sacramento Convention Center. Tickets are $60 for the evening event and $30 for the luncheon event and are available online at www.RiverCityFoodBank.org.

Proceeds from the event will purchase healthy food – including dairy and protein – for River City Food Bank’s emergency grocery program.

“We are excited to hold our event at the Sacramento Convention Center so that we can welcome more people and raise awareness about the reality of hunger in our community. We are especially thrilled to welcome Classique Catering as a major sponsor.  They will be providing the appetizers, soups and dessert for our Monday evening Soup Supper, which is going to be bigger and better than ever,” said River City Food Bank Executive Director Eileen Thomas.  “At the same time, we are grateful for the generosity of the Masonic Temple which has hosted Empty Bowls for the past six years.

Emergency food supplies have become increasingly important for area families whose incomes are falling too short to provide enough healthy food. In January, the food bank’s first month of operation in its new replacement building, nearly one-third of groceries distributed went to feed children.

This is the ninth year of Sacramento’s Empty Bowls event.  The original concept of a “simple soup lunch” – recreating the experience of a homeless person at a soup kitchen – has grown from 325 attendees to 1,250 last year.

At both the Monday evening supper and the Tuesday luncheon events, ticket admission includes a bowl handmade by local students and artists. Some of Sacramento’s finest local restaurants including Vizcaya , Lucca Restaurant, The Grange, Michelangelo’s,  R15, Greek Village Inn, Café Bernardo’s, Scott’s Seafood, Classique Catering and The Broiler donate gourmet soups for the event.

The event is designed to raise hunger awareness and funds for the fight against hunger in the Sacramento community.  River City Food Bank served over 47,000 area adults and children in 2011.

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About River City Food Bank (www.rivercityfoodbank.org)

Started in 1968 as a food closet, River City Food Bank (RCFB) is the only Sacramento- area food bank open every weekday to anyone experiencing hunger from anywhere in Sacramento County.  RCFB offers nutritionally-balanced 3-day emergency food, as well as compassion…and hope. River City Food Bank lost its permanent location in a fire due to arson in October 2010 and re-opened in January in a new location at 1800 28^th Street.

When River City Food Bank started its Empty Bowls fundraiser nine years ago, Cheryl Chamber, the event’s bowl coordinator, had to scramble a bit to make sure there would be more than enough bowls for people to take home as a reminder of hunger in our community.

No more. More than 30 schools, groups and individuals are boxing up hundreds of bowls for attendees to select at the event on March 5 and 6. (Make sure you get your tickets soon here.)

But no one source has created more bowls for the event than art teacher Robert Boriskin’s students at Christian Brothers High School. Over the past six years, C.B. students have created and donated more than 1,000 bowls. And that’s not counting this year’s expected donation of 300 bowls.

Check out KCRA’s coverage of this morning’s bright-and-early bowl-a-thon, at which students continued to complete bowls, just in time for the big event March 5 and 6 at the Convention Center.

Students say they’re inspired by the chance to create something that will be sold to raise money for people who are hungry, especially children. From the looks of it, however, students follow many muses. Their creations include the serious and the whimsical, abstract and realistic designs, themes from popular culture and statements about personal identity.

What they all have in common is heart.

Besides bowls created by C.B. students, this year’s event will feature bowls made from a variety of materials by professionals and talented amateurs: ceramic, porcelain, glass, wood and metal. We’ll be posting photos of some of the fun bowls that will be available at the event on our Facebook page. Like us and see! (Lots more photos of this morning’s bowl-a-thon are on our Facebook page, too.)

We’re still recruiting for more sponsors to help achieve our fundraising goal for this year. Learn more about sponsorship options here. You can purchase sponsorships online or contact us: email@rivercityfoodbank.org.

The child poverty rate has increased for the fourth year in a row, and 44% of children now live in low income families. Help River City Food Bank ensure that kids have access to healthy foods so that they can grow, learn and thrive.

“Tyler Smith etched the words ‘enjoy your soup’ into a bowl he hopes will go a long way in helping those less fortunate than he.

‘It makes me feel like I’m doing my part to help my community,’ said Smith, a sophomore at Christian Brothers High School.Smith and more than 100 other students completed dozens of artful ceramic bowls for the River City Food Bank’s upcoming Empty Bowls charity events.”