It was late morning on a Friday, as Mario Gonzalez surveyed the contents of the grocery delivery he had received at his San Jose apartment.
Making a decision based on not just the healthy assortment of ingredients but also the nip in the air that fall day, he declared: “It’s going to be a fish stew, with all of the ingredients of a salad in a soup.”
He started chopping vegetables — carrots, corn, onions, celery — and simmered them in a tomato broth with a little garlic until tender, then gently added large chunks of tilapia. He would later toss in some shredded cabbage and ponder whether the soup needed some oregano.
With ingredients provided by the Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen’s Medically Tailored Groceries program, Mario Gonzalez prepares a bowl of tomato fish soup with vegetables on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at his home in San Jose, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Voila, enough vitamin-packed, low-calorie soup for three or maybe four meals.
Gonzalez, 60, who has been struggling with Charcot Foot, a complication from diabetes-related neuropathy, credits the Loaves & Fishes program and his medical team for the progress he has made.
“It’s a village effort helping me get back on both feet,” he said. “Without Medically Tailored Meals, I’d be shopping. And I’d be shopping for all the wrong things.”
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The Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen, founded 44 years ago, has been expanding its reach as community demands increase. The mission statement is straightforward: “We provide meals to anyone in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties who does not know where their next meal will come from.”
These days that means free community meals at two serving sites in San Jose and 40 partner sites spread around the two counties; preparation and delivery of program meals for Meals on Wheels, Medically Tailored Meals and Groceries and the Jerry Larson FoodBasket; along with pickups of excess food via the A La Carte Food Recovery project.
A $50,000 grant from Wish Book readers would pay for more than 14,000 healthy meals in 2025 for the hungry and the food-insecure, from the homeless to the homebound.
On a fairly average afternoon at the North Seventh Street site, Loaves & Fishes serves a total of 157 meals to 59 people in just a couple of hours. Clients are welcome to take hot lunches and dinners, with three packed in each carryout bag, plus peanut butter and jelly sandwiches prepared by volunteers and fresh fruit and vegetables from the organic garden out back. Because the late October weather is still warm, the garden yields beautiful tomatoes and plums — about 40 pounds’ worth were distributed.
Both Jonathan Vallejo, an L&F operations manager, and lead volunteer Tim Chiavetta say the pace is demanding in terms of meal prep, service and cleanup — but it’s rewarding work.
“I spent most of my life pursuing hedonism, and I figured it was time to give back,” said Chiavetta, who was washing dishes after handing out meals for the busy afternoon.
Most guests take their meals to go, but a few eat in the dining room. These are folks who have fallen on hard times but remain optimistic.
“I bounced back and now I’m trying to better myself,” said Gabriel Fernandez, 46, who works part time and hopes to return to his construction specialties of home rehab and floor installation. “Everything is looking up.”
Gabriel Fernandez talks during an interview as he eats a hot meal at Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen’s community meals serving site in San Jose, Calif., on Oct. 25, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
An acquaintance at the table, a divorced mother who cares for an adult son with mental health issues, talks of the frustrating situation that people like she and Fernandez find themselves in.
“We have part-time jobs” — she’s a clerk — “and we still can’t make it,” she said. “I’m renting a car so I have a roof over my head. And I was born in Santa Clara County! Isn’t that incredible? It’s mind-blowing.”
After finishing a meal of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables, they both set out with the same plan in mind. They would pay it forward, or rather, feed it forward, by delivering meals to other homeless people in the area.
Loaves & Fishes “helps me survive,” Fernandez said, so he offers others his extra meals. She echoes his sentiment. “We’re off to help.”
THE WISH BOOK SERIES
Wish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.
WISH
Donations will help Loaves & Fishes provide more than 14,000 healthy meals to hungry and homeless families, children, low-income seniors, veterans, students, disabled individuals and people living with chronic diseases. Goal $50,000
HOW TO GIVE
Donate at wishbook.mercurynews.com/donate or mail in this form.
ONLINE EXTRA
Read other Wish Book stories, view photos and video at wishbook.mercurynews.com.