Nonprofits join forces to feed East Oakland
Dozens of people lined up Tuesday morning outside the offices of East Oakland Collective, children in tow, to pick up homemade Thanksgiving turkey dinners prepared by volunteers. They also received bags with staples like paper towels and eggs.
The new effort assisting lowincome families started as a way to help those experiencing food insecurity, economic distress and isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is a blessing,” said Mildred Buckley, a 66yearold Oakland resident, as a volunteer handed her a full meal, which Buckley said she
planned to save until Thursday.
Buckley’s family is one of 40 in East Oakland to get a homecooked Thanksgiving meal with turkey, cornbread stuffing, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes and apple crisp. The nonprofit East Oakland Collective organized two Thanksgiving meal distributions this year.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Candice Elder, executive director of the collective. “The food insecurity has just really deepened. More people need food and groceries on a daily basis, and a lot of people aren’t having Thanksgiving because of COVID. A lot of people are cut off from their families.”
Chefs for the People, a new nonprofit, cooked and delivered Tuesday’s meal giveaway. Two Berkeley chefs — concerned about food insecurity amid the pandemic — formed the organization in August. Chefs for the People raised money through a fiscal sponsor, Upstream Works, a software company, and now has contracts with East Oakland Collective and other groups that help cover its expenses.
The chefs, Traci Siegel and Terry Betts, wanted to focus on East Oakland, which has been the hardesthit neighborhood in Oakland during the pandemic with nearly 60% of the city’s cases. Three ZIP codes in East Oakland have among the highest COVID19 case rates in Oakland.
Siegel and Betts said they felt they had to do more to help others due to the public health crisis and the racial reckoning nationwide in the wake of protests over police brutality.
“I was feeling really despondent in general,” Betts said. “Throw the political situation in there too and wanting to find a positive outlet in all of this. That is what brought me together with Traci.”
Betts has worked in the food industry for nearly 35 years. She is currently the catering director at Market Hall, a gourmet grocery store in Oakland and Berkeley. Siegel was a personal chef for athletes and entertainers prior to the pandemic. Now she is primarily a cooking teacher.
The two women said they have known each other for 20 years, since their children were in kindergarten together.
Their partnership now is focused on how to give back to people of color. The two women feed “people in need,” but do so through organizations that know the needs of their
“Love is food on a plate. To me ... food is what brings people together, nourishing the body and soul, and so we jumped at the opportunity.” Traci Siegel, cooking teacher and cofounder of Chefs for the People
communities, like East Oakland Collective.
On Tuesday, Ruber Ramos Cruz ran up to East Oakland Collective’s offices with his mother to pick up their Thanksgiving meal. The 10yearold adjusted his Alvin and the Chipmunks face mask and helped his mother grab the bags of food.
“We are very happy,” he said.
Prior to the pandemic, East Oakland Collective’s “Feed the Hood” program distributed 2,000 meals every six weeks to people in the community. Betts and Siegel partnered with Elder to supply 200 of those meals at the beginning of the pandemic. Now they have a weekly contract with East Oakland Collective to supply 100 meals a week — 25 family meals for groups of four.
“Everything we cook is everything that we would eat,” Siegel said, adding that most meals include some kind of vegetable and meat.
“There are no processed foods used. Nothing is premade,” Betts added.
Now East Oakland Collective’s work to feed the community has transformed into a daily service.
“We have actually been feeding the ’ hood every day now,” Elder said. “We have folks who walk up. We deliver to up to 30 encampments everyday. We also do frontdoor delivery service to seniors.”
When Elder asked Siegel and Betts if they could provide Thanksgiving meals to families in need, Betts and Siegel didn’t hesitate.
“It’s my favorite holiday,” Betts said.
“Love is food on a plate. To me ... food is what brings people together, nourishing the body and soul, and so we jumped at the opportunity to be able to do this,” Siegel added.