South Bay nonprofit adds a dash of compassion to its fundraiser

Chefs set to create dishes for the 11th annual event

Those working locally to end hunger and homelessness in the last two years have been going the extra mile to address the pandemic and its economic fallout. For nonprofits like West Valley Community Services (WVCS), this means the success of their fundraising events is that much more vital to the success of their programs.

To that end, WVCS is holding its annual Chefs of Compassion fundraiser virtually for the second year in a row. Kohinoor Chakravarty, the nonprofit's director of development and communications, calls the April 1 event her passion project.

“Chefs of Compassion is my baby, as much as my own son,” Chakravarty said from a hospital in New York City where her son was recovering from brain surgery.

“We are serving 4,600 people now,” she added. “That number has more than doubled since 2020 and has not gone down since. (We're seeing) people we haven't seen in five years who might have been stabilized, but they came back because the restaurant where they worked closed, or there was no need for a nanny or babysitter because parents were suddenly at home.”

Chakravarty reported that during fiscal year 2020-21, WVCS helped 3,168 men, women and children. They saw 1,207 new clients coming to them for assistance, and 2,506 people received food from the WVCS food pantry and Parkit Market mobile delivery service.

Much of that assistance was made possible with proceeds from Chefs of Compassion, an event where three Bay Area chefs create dishes made solely with ingredients found in the WVCS pantry. This year, these dishes will be delivered to participants' homes, along with plating instructions and wine pairings. As ever, participants and a panel of judges will vote on the best dish,

This year's chefs are Nikos Moulinos of Taverna Restaurant in Palo Alto, Sachin Chopra of Michelin-starred Allspice in San Mateo and Isaac Karachepone of Stanford Healthcare.

Last year's event drew 515 virtual participants from the South Bay, Pleasanton, Livermore and

Morgan Hill.

“We had volunteers and a catering company delivering all over,” Chakravarty recalled.

This volunteer spirit extended to the pandemic shutdown, she added.

“Many of our volunteers are seniors and could not come out during COVID. Likewise, many of our constituents were healthcompromised or had little children, so we ran around delivering food to those who could not come out. “

Anne Gelhaus: agelhaus@bayareanewsgroup.com Sports: sports@bayareanewsgroup.com

GENERAL MANAGER

Michael Turpin: mturpin@bayareanewsgroup.com

CIRCULATION

Richard Raker: rraker@bayareanewsgroup.com

While the pandemic exacerbated food and housing insecurity in the South Bay, Chakravarty said, it did not create the problems.

“Even before the pandemic, many of our constituents were working three jobs. When all those jobs fell through, WVCS was there to hold them up.”

Based in Cupertino, WVCS also serves clients in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and West San Jose. In total, in 2020-21:

ANDA CHU — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Diane Jacobs, right, and son Gregory Atkins, left, get food at the West Valley Community Services' Park-it Market mobile pantry. The Cupertino-based nonprofit is hosting its 11th annual Chefs of Compassion fundraiser April 1. • WVCS distributed 1,872,630 meals; • $1,265,686 was given in emergency assistance to help individuals avoid homelessness and move into stable housing; • 1,230students, seniors and families were served from the Park-it Market; • 1,167 people received clothing, toys, food and household items at Gift of Hope 2020; • 292 children received clothing, shoes and backpacks at Back to School 2020; • 372families received Thanksgiving meals in 2020; and • 201clients participated in WVCS'S tax filing program, receiving $264,763 in returns. Chefs of Compassion is April 1at 6 p.m. Tickets are $175 at chefsofcompassion.org.