Testimonials

 Carry Warner, Leslie Gleason, Steve Linkhart 

"We are thankful to be surrounded by such giving community services in the Bay Area. There is one special community that gives to all 365 days a year and this giving Tuesday, we wanted to highlight Trinity Center.  Recently Steve Linkhart, CEO, CalFoods Logistics, and Carry Warner, CFO, took a surprise trip to recognize a local non-profit doing fantastic work in Walnut Creek and Central Contra Costa County. If you haven’t noticed the beautiful architectural wonder of Trinity Center in Walnut Creek, CA, the next time you are in the area, look at this masterfully planned community. The Trinity Center is led by Leslie Gleason, Executive Director and the facility serves and supports our most vulnerable community members. It’s no wonder why it was named a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and recent East Bay Philanthropy Awards winner.

“I really love and admire Trinity Center’s compassion and the multiple services that they provide to the community in addition to housing and feeding the homeless,” said Steve Linkhart, CEO, CalFoods Logistics. “They are fortunate enough to share their kitchen with other community non-profits who also serve and support struggling community members and have developed a fantastic program for support during the winter months at the Walnut Creek National Guard Armory. Trinity also extends their expertise to the local BART and Walnut Creek police regarding how to assist those in distress. As with many non-profits, COVID hit them pretty hard, which affected their infrastructure. We saw this as an excellent opportunity to honor them with a substantial donation to help them continue serving the community without worry. Trinity Center is a perfect example of commitment, compassion, and understanding towards the underserved and vulnerable population. I am very impressed with Trinity, and we are fortunate to have them in Contra Costa County. CalFoods Logistics will continue to support them however we can.”

In 2012, a vital community service provider in Walnut Creek announced discontinuing homeless assistance services after 15 years. In response, several program volunteers decided the community could not abide by the loss of such a critical program. Partnering with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, these volunteers opened Trinity Center’s doors on November 1, 2012, without missing a day of services provided to the community’s most desperate members.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Trinity Center has been committed to remaining fully operational, providing a safe place for those with nowhere else to go.  They support vulnerable people in our community impacted by chronic homelessness or extreme poverty. It can be very difficult to reach this population with traditional programming. But Trinity Center connects with segments of the homeless and working poor population that very few organizations reach. They also recognize that homelessness and poverty are complicated societal challenges that require diverse approaches. Trinity Center has pioneered distinctive and innovative programs in addition to a Day Shelter that provides essential human services, compassion, and support. In Fiscal Year 2021, nearly 1,000 unique individuals visited Trinity Center, and that number is on the rise.  On average, they serve between 60 and 70 individuals per day (sometimes topping 80!), with meals, showers, laundry, clothing, secure storage, peer support, case management, and computer, telephone, and mail access.

“Trinity Center relies on the support and generosity of our community to provide essential services, pathways forward, and a safe place for people in crisis,” said Leslie Gleason, Executive Director of Trinity Center.  “Gifts of all sizes make a difference, but it’s not every day that someone surprises us with a visit and a check for $10,000!  We are deeply moved by this show of support from CalFoods Logistics, which will allow us to move confidently into the future, knowing we can provide a high level of service and face whatever new challenges may arise. Homelessness is an extremely complex issue that has far-reaching impacts on our community. Because homelessness is a complex issue, increases in the incidence and duration of homelessness can happen during economic upturns and downturns. In addition to economic hardships, many people become homeless due to other life issues. For every homeless person or family, there is usually a complex set of factors contributing to their homelessness state, and there is not a one-size, fits-all solution. Addressing homelessness requires a multi-faceted, coordinated, and systems-oriented approach.  Trinity Center exists to meet this challenge with support from the community to provide essential safety net services and a pathway forward for each individual who crosses our threshold seeking housing, financial stability, and wellness. We are grateful for CalFoods Logistics, as a partner in our mission to uphold the values of dignity, respect, inclusion, equity, and vibrancy of life for all as we address the crisis of homelessness in our region and state.”

For the past seven winters, Trinity Center has operated an Evening Program to provide emergency overnight shelter to 30-40 Trinity Center members, paired with intensive case management, from December through April. The Winter Evening Program has become a place of refuge for the most vulnerable members of the homeless population: elderly persons who do not feel safe staying in a general homeless shelter. Extending Trinity Center’s code of conduct to this program is deeply important. Members – especially the elderly – are often afraid to go to other overnight shelters because they fear a volatile environment where they feel unsafe to sleep. The desired outcome of Trinity’s program is to continue to offer shelter, services, and member advocacy to the growing number of people who need overnight protection during the most vulnerable months of the year.

Trinity Center also holds special meaning for Carry Warner, CFO, CalFoods Logistics, who said, “I first became aware of Trinity Center in 2017, through Donna Colombo, their past Executive Director. I volunteered by serving meals, shuttling members to the winter shelter, and performing other volunteer services. Many of the folks I interacted with were kind, friendly, and deserving of compassion and dignity, and that’s what Trinity allows them to do. The center doesn’t just feed and house people as a one-time opportunity; they are committed to helping them with long-term services and solutions so they can get back on their feet. The services provided are essential to the greater community. The collaboration with other non-profits, local law enforcement, community stakeholders, and the surrounding neighborhoods and small businesses allows Trinity Center a broader reach and ultimately a greater impact.”

 As the holiday season starts, please keep unique community resources such as Trinity Center in mind as you make donations or wonder how you can help this holiday season and throughout the year.  You can reach out to Trinity Center directly with any questions about volunteering, donating, or finding out more about their services. Contributions are used for meals, staffing, and the overall cost of operations, which always seem to rise just like household budgets!  Please share this information with anyone that you know in need."

  Steve Linkhart, Maria Segoviano, Joy Cohan

"During a time of continued extraordinary demand for food assistance in Yolo County, a “cool” donation by CalFoods Logistics has enabled Yolo Food Bank to invest in an additional 1,200 square feet of refrigerated storage space. This generosity was just in time for harvest season, maximizing the organization’s ability to nourish the community.

“This unit will allow 20-25 farmers to bring as much as 56,000 pounds of additional produce into our facility, so that we can support healthier eating in Yolo County this season,” said Yolo Food Bank’s Director of Operations Corkey Mapalo. “I’m very excited that our community now can benefit from this, and I’m so thankful to CalFoods Logistics for helping us to acquire this refrigerated unit.”

Yolo Food Bank is on track to recover, store, and distribute at least 12 million pounds of food this year, compared with 10 million pounds in 2020 and only six million pounds in pre-COVID 2019. CalFoods Logistics provided 250,000 pounds of this food last year – both fresh vegetables and shelf-stable items – as Yolo Food Bank’s ongoing provider of the State of California-funded Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) products, enhancing surplus edible food recovery capabilities.

 When CalFoods CEO Steve Linkhart heard that Yolo Food Bank was seeking funding for more refrigeration for this and other produce and fresh food donated by local farmers, grocers, and distributors, he felt motivated to assist. “CalFoods is happy to support the cooler and add more capacity to get food out to the people who can use it,” Linkhart shared. “Our Woodland warehouse team is dedicated, and this investment ensures that everybody in this area benefits from CalFoods’ presence.”

With CalFoods’ donation, Yolo Food Bank’s total cold storage capacity is about 5,000 square feet, with more expected in an adjacent second warehouse now in planning stages.

“The pandemic-driven food security emergency has never really diminished, and now the uncertainties around the Delta variant surge are further exacerbating pre-existing inequities in our local food system,” explained Yolo Food Bank Executive Director Michael Bisch. “Despite our move to a much larger facility just 30 months ago, we’re bursting at the seams in our current warehouse. This is especially true when it comes to storage space for produce and other fresh foods that are the most nutritious for the struggling residents whom we serve.”

A three-fold increase in demand for nutrition since Spring 2020 has resulted in Yolo Food Bank serving more than 60,000 Yolo County residents monthly ever since, from nearly 130 food distributions. This includes food access partnerships with more than 80 nonprofit programs countywide. An intensifying focus upon surplus edible food recovery pairs with the support of a network of donors of food, funds, and time to strive to meet the food security needs of children and families, senior citizens, farm workers, students, veterans, and all who face disruption in their dependable access to healthy food.

“Our gratitude is deep for Cal Foods’ investment in our ability to maintain this sky-high level of service to the community,” Bisch stated. “More than 90% of Yolo Food Bank’s annual funding to nourish some of the very people who harvest our local fields depends upon this kind of private generosity. Neighbors who are heroes for their community in need, such as CalFoods, make this possible, and are having a significant impact on health and economic outcomes as the pandemic continues to batter us all.”

Yolanda Gonzalez, Steve Linkhart, Carry Warner, Julie Hilt 

"We visited the Monument Crisis Center in Concord, CA.  This beloved center has been assisting families and the surrounding community members since 2003.  They provide food to approximately 15,000 households signed up through their Food Distribution Program.  They also have additional offerings such as adult education, youth, and senior programs to address members’ various needs within their community.  CalFoods Logistics CEO Steve Linkhart and CFO Carry Warner were thrilled to donate a check for $5,000.00 to this worthy cause.

Yolanda Gonzalez, Operations Manager, took us on a facility tour during their mid-morning food distribution.  There was the hustle and bustle all around as folks stood in line to receive additional nutritional support. Many volunteers and staff organized and sorted donation intake and prepared bags of food on the inside. There is a constant buzz of energy, and this place is busy because there is such a need for assistance today. On any given day, they have 25 volunteers working on site. Yolanda said, “We are fortunate to have some great partners to work with that help with additional services for those who visit our location.  We have folks from the district attorney’s office for legal assistance. We have a mobile medical clinic that comes so uninsured people can get medical help at no cost.  There are also the residents from John Muir who come and answer questions with center visitors, and we are trying to develop a new cancer outreach program to reach more minority clientele to help navigate the medical system.”

Pre-pandemic, this location was filled with after-school youth who participated in the after-school tutoring program.  But have now pivoted those lessons to Zoom to still provide this support to the kids. In addition, they offered yoga classes and cooking classes. Monument also hosted senior moments, where they provided additional health screenings, social gatherings, and meals for local senior citizens.  They really opened their doors to the community to become more than just a food distribution location but a place of resource and refuge for the community.

“The center also provides summer camps for kids with outdoor excursions and a robotic camp.  We have a backpack drive that assists 1,600 kids filled with all of their school supplies,” says Julie Hilt, Monument Crisis Center Board Chair.  “Normally at this time of the year, we have a “shop with a cop” where we partner with the Concord Police Department, and they will go shop at Target and pick out a holiday gift.”

 As we walked into the warehouse area, there is a place for everything. There are shelves filled with baby formula, baby diapers, toiletries, and adult diapers but these limited commodities are costly. Once they are out, they cannot afford to purchase more.  In addition, there are large bins sorted by type of food group to make it easier for volunteers to prepare their donation bags.  This place is a beacon of hope for a lot of community members, and we were fortunate enough to see a large truck pull up with the entire truck bed filled with food donations from San Ramon High School.  We must continue to support this place and others like it all around California. 

As we presented our donation check to the center, Yolanda thanked us and said, “thank you, CalFoods, for the donation. This will help us purchase additional holiday food boxes for our clients because we run out very quickly as they are always in high demand. We appreciate the donation.”

There are many ways to help the Monument Crisis Center. Reach out and ask about volunteering. You can host your own food drive on their behalf and deliver the donations or simply make a monetary donation on their website.