by Mary Risley Director, Food Runners Ladies and Gentlemen; Boys and Girls; Friends and Family, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your unwavering support and friendship over the past 35 years. It is with gratitude and excitement that I announce it is time that I hang up my apron and pass the torch to ensure that our work and legacy continue for years to come. Some of the original Food Runners Volunteers, clockwise from top left: Rachel K, Dawn D, Judy S (r.) + pal and Micki E You know our story to date: 35 years ago, a small group of women and I started Food ..read more

 by Nancy Hahn Retired Food Runners Dispatcher Neither hills, nor traffic, nor COVID, nor lack of legal parking stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. FR Truck Driver Jose J. wheeling out a big load from Whole Foods Potrero One of the first things the Food Runners dispatcher needs to know when directing a food donation is: “will it fit in a car?” If the answer is, “no,” the donation gets assigned to the Food Runners truck or one of the two Food Runners vans, depending on the size and location of the donation. Driving one of thes ..read more

by Mary Risley Director, Food Runners Ladies and Gentlemen; Boys and Girls; Friends and Family, You know our story to date: 35 years ago, a small group of women and I started Food Runners with the mission of helping our fellow San Franciscans in need. In the spring of 1987, the staff and the San Francisco Food Bank could not handle fresh produce, because they did not have access to clean water to wash their hands. So, we decided to set up a non-profit where volunteers, in their own vehicles, could pick up excess perishable and prepared foods and deliver it directly to the neighborhood ..read more

by Katherine Blunt Since opening at the height of the pandemic, the Food Runners kitchen on Waller Street has been transforming bulk food donations into thousands of prepared meals for delivery to about 180 agencies throughout San Francisco.  The work is critical. A lot of restaurants and businesses closed during the pandemic, reducing the number of prepared meals available for distribution to agencies in need. The Waller Kitchen helps to fill that gap. Six days a week, a small team of chefs figures out how to make use of hundreds of pounds of food donated from major grocers ..read more

 by Suzanne Brais, Volunteer On February 24, 2022, when Putin began his military operation in Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian residents mobilized either to defend their country or to escape the horrors that were to come.  Within three days of the first attacks, World Central Kitchen (WCK) set up operations in Poland and supported the millions of refugees leaving their homes, fleeing the bombing and streaming across the Polish border. Initially, WCK distributed hot soup, tea, coffee and hot chocolate to any and all as soon as they crossed the border. The warm beverages were a welcome r ..read more

by Mary Risley Food Runners Director Hi, Everyone — Happy Holidays!  My Newsletter this month is about Nopa — Nopa on Divisadero at the corner of Hayes in SF — is by far my favorite restaurant in the world!!! Nopa exterior (photo credit: Krista Robertson, Covering the Bases) As a lifelong culinary expert, I am fortunate to have been able to eat at good restaurants all over the world.  And, my favorite is Nopa!!! Here, are the reasons: Me, Mary Risley with Nopa Chef Laurence Jossel First of all, I have known Laurence Jossel, the chef/owner, for over 30 years.&nbs ..read more

by Cito Garcia, Volunteer & Recent Weekend Dispatcher Preamble: Cito Garcia is a Junior at Urban High School. He is a part of the class of '23.  Cito first learned about Food Runners during the the pandemic. Both of his parents work at Nopa restaurant and Food Runners played a huge role in their ability to stay up and running during the lockdown. Cito served as Food Runners weekend dispatcher this Spring from February through April. This is Cito's Food Runners story in his own words. Working with Food Runners has been one of the best opportunities of my life. When I fir ..read more

byVicki Ehrlich, Volunteer Food give away in progress at North Beach Citizens I found out about Food Runners in the summer of 2020, when, in one of the endless pandemic Zoom meetings that were taking the place of work at the San Francisco Opera, there was a discussion in the Orchestra about ways we could reach out to our community.  One colleague had volunteered in the Food Runners kitchen and had had a great, friendly experience.  It was easy to look them up and sign up, and I went for driving, thinking that at my rather advanced age I would err on the side of caution in ..read more

By Adam Teitelbaum, volunteer This month longtime Food Runners volunteer Adam Teitelbaum interviewed our truck drivers who pick up and drop off the food that feeds thousands of people in need every week in San Francisco. Adam: How long have you been with Food Runners? Keith Goldstein: I have volunteered with Food Runners for 32 years. For the past 26 years I have picked up food from the farmers at the Ferry Plaza Market. Rain or shine. I haven’t missed a Saturday market pick up since the start of the pandemic. Seth Acharya: I have volunteered for Food Runners for 22 years. I started when the ..read more

by Margaret McNulty, Recipient Sunday donations from Tader Joe's awaiting pick up.  Flowers included! There’s just no other word for it. It’s a miracle. A miracle that has touched our lives with such a selfless, bountiful blessing! Imagine my surprise finding out that a business like Food Runners even existed. The brilliant business model of taking often discarded food and delivering it into the hands of the needy, and for no other reason than to benefit the hungry. Every time my building gets a delivery, it reminds me of the facial expression of my then two-year old son, Dy ..read more