Donations don't Stop with Fruit in Brentwood

One of my loyal readers named Anna contacted me urging that I remind the readers of Broakley that food growing on their trees could be donated to local Food Banks and make a difference in other peoples lives.

Have you ever wondered what to do with your excess backyard fruit? Have you seen fruit going to waste on trees around your neighborhood? Why not donate it to feed the hungry? The Food Bank gladly accepts any picked fruit in good condition. Every month, 98,000 people in Contra Costa and Solano counties rely on the Food Bank.

If you can pick the fruit yourself, bring it to the Food Bank in either location (Concord or Fairfield) or to a local agency or program in your area. The food collected through this program provides fresh fruit to people who would otherwise go without. Donations of fresh fruits and vegetables can be taken directly to warehouses:

Food Bank Warehouse in Contra Costa County located at 4010 Nelson Avenue in Concord, California (925) 676-7543.

Food Bank Warehouse in Solano County located at 631 Railroad Avenue in Fairfield, California (707) 421-9777.

If you anticipate donating 500 pounds or more and live in Contra Costa County, please call (925) 676-7543 to arrange for volunteers to pick and pack the fruit for you. (Please call at least a week before your fruit is ready to be harvested.)

There is more information on the Food Bank web site at http://www.ccfb.org/ or http://www.foodbankccs.org/

If you can, help a neighbor in need and if you need help, call 1-800-870-FOOD.

Now in Brentwood we also have another option.

Over the past few years, Harvest Time Church in Brentwood has been reaching out to local communities to help those in need. It started slowly by helping at the Contra Costa Food Bank, and later purchased a van that it used to make food donations and deliveries. Now it is taking its efforts one step further by offering "A Day of Compassion," scheduled at the church on March 7.

"We started recognizing how times were getting harder for everyone, even those who had once been considered affluent and wanted to come up with an idea to help," said Pastor Dennis Reynolds of Harvest Time. "Once we got started, the families of the church really took it to heart."

From there came the idea of making regular trips to two locations, an apartment complex in Brentwood and a mobile home park in Oakley, offering a point where needy families can come and pick up food and supplies. Reynolds said that once the van, or "mobile food bank," was purchased, the church found it a lot easier to get what the community needed to the various locations.

The story doesn't end there, however, because since word got out that the church will be offering the food donations when the truck arrives in Brentwood on March 7, other professionals have been coming out of the woodwork to help.

Reynolds said it started with a dentist who offered to come out and check teeth on this day. "He didn't just offer to come and do an exam, which would have been great, but he also offered to have the patients come back to his office and get fillings or whatever work they needed done for free," Reynolds said.

Reynolds said the list of those willing to donate their time and resources has been multiplying, and it currently has several dentists, doctors and even hair cutters coming out to offer their time on March 7. Sutter Delta and Mt. Diablo medical centers have offered their help and services as well.

The event starts at 9 a.m., but the food donations from Convoy of Hope are coming in on that day, and donations will start once the truck arrives. For more information, call the church at 925-516-1908.

Thank you to Anna and Oakley Councilmen Kevin Romick for input on this story.
Photos Courtesy of Radar.