Volume #5
October November 2025
The end of summer didn’t slow down for People’s Kitchen. Together, we served 3,250 first time meals in July and 3,333 in August. It was great seeing so many of you at our annual Volunteer Meeting on September 10. Thank you for sharing your insights with out board.
We’d like to spotlight a serving group leader who has helped those in need through People’s Kitchen since the 1980s. Carly Baker hosts a Cal Poly serving group once every two months that remains our most popular meal: a complete tri-tip BBQ. Cal Poly’s service has notched our highest single-day meal total in People’s Kitchen history at 174 meals.
Baker says she has always helped those less fortunate even before arriving in San Luis Obispo. She sees service at Prado to be a win-win situation: community members can feel good about providing a meal, and the clients are fed.
To would-be volunteers in the community, Baker says, “I think everyone should do it!”
As always, if you need assistance with meal supplies or servers, please reach out to our board members. And thank you for everything you do for our community.
There are so many groups with amazing stories of their service. Share your story with us by emailing Mary Parker at mnparker539@gmail.com.
f you are age 701/2 (or older) you can make a gift directly from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to People's Kitchen. A direct gift from your IRA to a non-profit is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). These direct gifts/QCDs are considered non-taxable income, so it is important to let your tax preparer know that you made these gifts/QCDs. QCDs can be made contacting your IRA custodian (e.g. Schwab, Fidelity, etc.).
If you have reached Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age, QCDs reduce the RMD amount dollar for dollar, which will reduce your taxable income. QCDs could help reduce the amount of your Social Security benefits subject to income taxes and potentially reduce or prevent Medicare premium surcharges.
Contact Pat Beck: pbeck8833@gmail.com , phone 805-235-9712 OR
Contact Mary Parker: mnparker539@gmail.com, phone 805-440-2312
People’s Kitchen posts weekly numbers on our Facebook page; check there for the latest count.
