Book of Dreams: Sacramento’s Loaves & Fishes needs new stoves to feed the homeless
To some, chef Edwin Burton is nothing short of a miracle worker.
He can look into the large walk-in refrigerator of the Loaves & Fishes dining hall at 6 a.m., take stock of the fresh food on hand, and, in less than six hours, lead a team of volunteers to provide a nourishing meal for 500 guests. And he’s been honing his superpowers for 25 years, five days a week, in this kitchen.
He readily lists the things he loves about his work: Feeding the guests, many of them homeless or just hungry; working with a revolving cast of volunteers; and being part of a cadre of committed co-workers who are devoted to respecting the dignity of all people, no matter what misfortune has brought them through their doors.
But one thing he does not love is constantly having to work with less equipment than expected. His six commercial single-burner gas stoves frequently sputter out and need repair. Most are at least 25 years old; the newest stoves were purchased in 2004, says Naomi Cabral, development director.
“We have repair people out a couple of times a week,” she said. “Besides the wonky stoves, there are a couple of the ovens that are starting to be more of a problem as well.”
Each of those gas appliance repair visits can cost as much as $400.
To help make operations more efficient, Loaves & Fishes this year is asking readers of The Sacramento Bee’s annual Book of Dreams program to contribute $5,000 for the purchase of six new commercial single-burner stoves. The organization currently lacks dedicated funding for the new kitchen equipment.
Help through meals
Although the state of his kitchen workhorses is worrisome, Burton prefers to focus on the positive, especially the appreciation he receives from those receiving daily meals. And what’s not to like? The meal on a recent Wednesday was a crisp green salad, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans and a hefty slice of cake for dessert.
Pressed for more details of why he has devoted so much of his life to helping the less fortunate, he ran his hand over the graying stubble on his chin and smiled. “I really love our volunteers,” he said emphatically. “We couldn’t do all this without them. They are committed.”
Nine were working this day, all busy but polite, doing their assigned tasks with a professionalism that belies their unpaid status.
“We always need more volunteers, especially as the numbers of guests tick up,” said 12-year volunteer Ja’net Blea . “I started out coming with a group from my church once a month. After a while, the older members dropped out, but I enjoyed it so much, I took a Thursday orientation of the whole operation, and started coming every week, sometimes twice a week. I feel blessed to help.”
She credited Burton with fostering the congenial atmosphere of the dining hall.
“I cannot remember a day that chef (Burton) didn’t make you feel like family, asking everyone about their new grandchild, their spouse, their kids,” she said.
She has a granddaughter who has been bugging her for years to take her with her to Loaves & Fishes, and “next summer, she’ll be old enough.” Volunteers must be 14 or older to work in the kitchen.
‘New-found freedom’
Burton loves to cook and it shows. He found Loaves & Fishes when he was down on his luck.
“I came here as a guest,” he said. “Soon I got a job in the kitchen doing dishes. One day I asked if I could cook something, and I made a pasta primavera. Everyone liked it, so I got the job.”
Said Blea: “We still make a version of it, and it’s very popular, although we renamed it ‘chicken divine,’ ‘turkey divine,’ whatever meat we have to go into it.”
Referring to the founders of the organization, Burton has nothing but praise.
“Chris and Dan Delany did a great thing opening up this place,” Burton said. “Everyone needs help sometime in their lives. I believe that’s what Jesus would have us do: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,’ and so on.”
Activist Dan Delany, a former Catholic priest, died in 2015; Chris, a former nun, soldiered on well into this century. She died at age 90 on Sept. 23 this year. There was a celebration of her life on Nov. 8 in Friendship Park on the Loaves & Fishes grounds.
In its 40 years of service, Loaves & Fishes has expanded to 16 programs and services across a 4.5-acre campus near the corner of 16th and North C streets. Cabral, the development director, said Loaves & Fishes is the only organization in Sacramento providing meals seven days a week.
Staff members all adhere to the attitude that they receive more from their guests than they give. That view is reflected in an essay written by the group’s former executive director, LeRoy Chatfield.
He said some staffers and volunteers need to learn that lesson and overcome any notions that they are superior to those they serve.
When staffers begin to accept that, he wrote, “they experience a new-found freedom in their daily work.”
Book of Dreams
The request: The Sacramento Loaves & Fishes Dining Room, which serves 500 meals a day to the unhoused community of Sacramento, needs six new stove/burner units.
The cost: About $5,000.
