San Francisco Zen Center volunteers came together in the City Center kitchen on three Sundays this year to cook dinner for the San Francisco Interfaith Council’s Winter Shelter Program.
With their hearts in their hands, from left: Jules Bernstein, Yukari Ishikawa (front), Jeffrey Schneider (back), Louise Madrid, Glenda Sell, and Ellen Simpson. (Volunteers not pictured are listed below.) Photo: Ama Studio (Daisuke)
Participating with the San Francisco Interfaith Council, Zen Center provided dinners to over 250 homeless individuals on January 17, February 7, and February 21.
On January 7 we brought the meal to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, which was offering overnight shelter to homeless men.
The February meals and accommodations were hosted by the Universalist Unitarian Church.
Volunteers from each of these churches made sure the doors were open and volunteers from the Interfaith Council welcomed the guests and made sure each of them had a place to sleep.
Everyone who came was received with courtesy and dignity by the hosts.
Drawing on Zen Center’s long association with cooking great food for many people, the guests were offered a vegetarian meal which included break baked at Green Gulch Farm.
We are very grateful to our volunteers, to the Interfaith Council and to the churches for creating this program.
Zen Center volunteers not pictured are: Quynh Anh Le-Be, Ilaria Tassi, Alex Behrend, Christopher Gallagher, Dana Oermaier, Remi Lehe, Elizabeth Levi, Paul O’Leary, Sally Swope, and EJ Hoton and the Mysterious Bakers for fabulous desserts. A deep bow to all of you for your compassionate service.
