Volume #2
Peach Cobble Extraordinaire
April May 2025
Spring is in full swing, and our serving teams are busy. We served 3,249 first-time meals in January and 3,077 in February. We are continually grateful to this network of servers for meeting the needs of our community.
This month's serving group spotlight is Renovate Church, formerly known as FBCSLO. The serving group was founded by one of People's Kitchen's original volunteers Julie Delfino. Dave and Peggy Young joined the serving group in 2006 and took over for Julie as coordinators in 2010. Dave and Peggy take pride in making homemade cobbler every month with their meal. Dave and Peggy say, "We are blessed to still be able to be Christ's "hands and feet" and show His love in this small way — via cobbler making every month!" PK board member Cammy Harris has taken the lead for the serving group since 2019.
If you'd like to be part of our next newsletter spotlight, reach out to Mary Parker via email. We love hearing how groups have learned about us and what inspires them to do this wonderful work!
People's Kitchen is thinking ahead to what can keep our organization sustainable and feeding the hungry long into the future. We've begun some "soft" fundraising efforts to cover increased expenses related to food, paper goods and higher numbers of clients served.
Several volunteers have generously donated to People's Kitchen, including Craig Nelson of the Baha'i Faith serving group. Craig made a contribution in memory of his late father, Marvin, who passed away in 2022. After receiving a small tax refund on his parents' estate last year, he decided to donate to People's Kitchen.
"I can’t think of a more worthy organization to donate to in SLO," Craig said. "My father volunteered at the homeless shelter in Santa Maria and even drove up to SLO a few times to help serve at PK a few times."
Thank you to Craig and the Baha'i Faith group for all the ways you support our mission. Contact our board members if you're interested in making a donation to People's Kitchen!
People's Kitchen volunteers served 3,050 first-time meals in November and 3,026 first time meals in December. Our total first-time meal count for 2024 was 36,840 — 4,000 more meals than in 2023. That's a big increase, illustrating how essential you all have been to responding to this increased need in our community.
So far in 2025, numbers have trended upward, including a week while the warming shelter was open when we served more than 800 meals over seven days. We continue to be amazed by this community's hard work!
We'd like to welcome two new serving groups: Julia & Friends from Hidden Kitchen and SLO City Church. We are always looking for more groups to help fill in throughout the year, so don't hesitate to let our leaders know if you've heard of any interested organizations.
With the number of people we're feeding, our expenses for paper goods have increased. We are actively looking for donations, which are tax-deductible. Please spread the word to any individuals or businesses who are interested in helping People's Kitchen achieve its mission. Every penny helps us feed those in need!
In the meantime, please connect with us on Facebook
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.
