“It’s hard to believe this amazing partnership has been going on for four years now.
Since July of 2020, Bread & Roses has been integral in helping to transform the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s Drive-Through Pantry in San Rafael. The food bank
volunteers are always curious to see who will be performing every Saturday and
appreciate the crowd-friendly music. The music provides a joyful environment for the
families and other recipients receiving food as well as upbeat energy for the dedicated
community volunteers who are working hard to serve them. Thank you Bread & Roses for all your outreach efforts in the Bay Area.” Randy Rollmann, Volunteer Coordinator.
Bread & Roses is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year by shining a spotlight on some of our valued social service partners. During the pandemic, we expanded our program to bring live music to some of the larger food bank distribution centers. Bringing music every Saturday morning to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s warehouse in San Rafael has been a mainstay of this initiative, along with music for other Food Banks such as the Alameda County Community Food Bank and Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
We provide different performers and groups for the weekly programs, which feature three sets of music for the 400 or so households that participate in the drive-through each Saturday. It has been a wonderful opportunity for many of our artists – both established musicians as well as young performing groups – to engage with the community and create an uplifting atmosphere for the recipients as well as the volunteers. Performers like Craig Caffal, Mitch Woods, Jeffrey Halford, Heartstrings Bridge and the PB & Jam Band have been dedicated regular players for the program, along with youth performers like Jacob Egan and Enriching Lives Through Music (ELM).
One of the Food Bank volunteers recently shared, “We all feel so lucky to have the
talented Bread & Roses musicians at the Saturday programs. As the families in the
community drive-through to pick up their food, the music provides warmth, hope and
support …rain or shine! We are grateful.”
Many of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank volunteers have also become Bread &
Roses volunteers, a true “win-win” and unexpected bonus. They have helped with some
of our benefit and volunteer events, as well as institutional shows. The relationships that have been established between volunteers from both organizations have extended the feeling that we are all part of the same community that is giving back to those in need.
Bread & Roses brings hope, healing and joy though live music for our isolated neighbors in institutional settings. Our collaboration with the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank has been most successful and is an ongoing accomplishment in fulfilling our mission. For more info, visit www.sfmarinfoodbank.org and www.breadandroses.org.
Photo Caption: Mitch Woods at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, San Rafael.
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