Turkey Bowl

Two days prior to Thanksgiving, pro bowlers, sports celebrities and the community gathered together at Serra Bowl in Daly City to volunteer their time and skills as they bowled strikes for turkeys at the eleventh annual Turkey Bowl. This event raises money to buy turkeys to benefit the St. Anthony Dining Room as well as the North Peninsula Food Pantry & Dining Center of Daly City. Rex Golobic and his family – the owners of Serra Bowl – created this event to help feed the hungry over the holidays.  It has been successful since its very beginning and over 1,000 turkeys are contributed every year to help those in need.

Nancy Pelosi visits the Dining Room

On the day before Thanksgiving, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her grandchildren graciously volunteered in our Dining Room. She has been donating her time to St. Anthony’s for many years and we are very thankful for her support. After serving, Pelosi reflected that “On Thanksgiving, we come together with family and friends to honor a spirit of gratitude: offering thanks for the blessings in our lives; giving back to the less fortunate in our communities.” Congresswoman Pelosi and her family captured the spirit of giving that we at St. Anthony’s cherish so much.

Turkey Carve

Later that day, recently re-elected Mayor Edwin Lee, Police Chief Greg Suhr, and Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White joined St. Anthony Chefs to put the final touches on our 61^st Thanksgiving Day meal.  The Mayor, Chiefs, and uniformed members of the San Francisco Police and Fire Departments carved the last of 4,800 pounds of turkey and added the final garnish of whipped cream to our 4,000 pumpkin pies.

Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving Day and all other days, St. Anthony’s opens its doors to any and all San Franciscans.  Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, joined over a hundred volunteers and thousands of guests to serve and enjoy a delicious meal prepared for 4,000.  As St. Anthony’s prepares to serve a growing number of needy residents, Executive Director Shari Roeseler commented, “These are difficult times.  At St. Anthony’s we see increasing numbers of people seeking services from all of our programs. The dining room alone saw a 15% jump in the number of guests in October.  Despite the challenges people of San Francisco are facing, I also see hope on a daily basis as donors, volunteers, and guests come together to celebrate the holiday season.” The Dining Room was full of hope and holiday cheer on Thanksgiving Day, as guests ate all the food off their plates, had second helpings of pumpkin pie, took more food home for leftovers, and walked out of St. Anthony’s with full stomachs and smiling faces.

With 4,800 pounds of turkey, 1,250 pounds of mashed potatoes, 1,250 pounds of yams, 1,000 pounds of stuffing, 4,000 individual pumpkin pies and more, this may have been one of the biggest thanksgiving meals you’ve ever seen!

On August 2, 2011, President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011. This legislation allows the country to raise its borrowing limit and makes significant cuts to federal spending. The legislation sets a spending cap, which enacts a total of $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years. These cuts would go into effect starting October 1, 2011, and the cuts are spread evenly among defense and non-defense programs.  Social service programs that could be affected include: Shelter plus Care, Emergency Shelter Grants, Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, Section 8, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Americorps, WIC, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs, and Social Services Block Grant programs.

So-called “entitlement” programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Unemployment Insurance, Veterans Compensation, TANF (welfare), and SNAP (food stamps) are exempt from cuts under the spending cap, however, they’re fair game for cuts under the new twelve-member “Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction” (commonly referred to as the “supercommittee”). The supercommittee may also suggest tax reform measures as a deficit reduction strategy.

If the supercommittee doesn’t come up with a plan that achieves an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit solutions, or if the committee’s plan is rejected by Congress or the President, automatic trigger cuts of an additional $1.2 trillion to discretionary spending will go into effect in January 2013, with cuts spread evenly between defense and non-defense programs.

At the local and state levels, we’ve already seen drastic cuts to health and social service programs since the recession began.  San Francisco has lost homeless shelter beds, drop-in centers, and substance abuse treatment and mental health programs.  California has reduced SSI grants by $77/month, has eliminated dental care and Adult Day Health Care as Medi-Cal benefits, has instituted co-pays for Medi-Cal services, and has reduced CalWORKs grants for low-income families.

As House minority leader, our Congressional representative, Nancy Pelosi, will choose three members of the 12-member supercommittee.  She has made a public statement that her supercommittee appointees will protect funding for entitlement programs like Medicaid and Social Security.

What principles do you believe should guide the “supercommittee” as they try to come up with a $1.2 trillion debt relief package?  Should programs that help low-income Americans be held harmless?  Should tax reform be part of the budget-balancing package?  How would you be affected by potential cuts to any of the programs listed above? Please leave a comment to this post and let us know what you think. We will be contacting Representative Pelosi to share our views about the deficit reduction plan with her, and we will forward your comments on to her.

To send a message to your legislators, visit one of the following websites:

• NETWORK: A Catholic Social Justice Lobby
• Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
• Coalition on Human Needs

After welcoming Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to serve our 35th Millionth Meal on Sunday, the Dining Room is back to basics offering seven more scrumptious meals this week. The delicious meals this week are sure to satisfy any meat-lovers palate, as they feature hearty chicken, turkey, pork, and sausage. As the winter rain finally makes its debut, the hearty beef and potato stew on Valentines Day will provide guests with the warmth and satisfaction they need, body and soul.

Feb 9 Shredded Pork with sesame & soy glaze: Macaroni salad and vegetables

Feb 10 Chicken with mushrooms and sherry: Rice pilaf and vegetables

Feb 11 Turkey Tetrazzini: Turkey and vegetables simmered in a veloute sauce w/ pasta

Feb 12 Baked pasta and sausage casserole: Angel hair pasta and Italian sausage w/Mornay sauce

Feb 13 Coconut Chicken Curry: Served w/vegetables and rice

Feb 14 Valentines Day Beef and Vegetable stew with potato: A wonderfully hearty stew

Feb 15 Jerked Turkey: Served w/sweet potato, vegetables, and coconut tapioca pudding

Please check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

35th Million Meal served by Historic Non-Profit as USDA estimates that 35 Million went hungry last year

SAN FRANCISCO, CA February 6th, 2009 Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a long time volunteer and supporter of St. Anthony’s, will be at St. Anthony’s on Sunday, February 8th to serve the organization’s historic 35th million meal, with a press conference following. California State Senator Mark Leno will also be on hand to participate in the momentous event. With recent findings by the USDA that 35 million people (12 percent of Americans) could not put food on the table at least part of last year, and with a pending Economic Recovery Package that has passed in the House and is moving forward in the Senate, the Speaker’s visit is both timely and appropriate.

“There are different ways to serve the poor – you can serve food to the hungry on the front lines or you can support legislation that will help keep people from getting in the food line in the first place. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is showing that she wants to do both. That is good news for organizations like St. Anthony’s, which are today serving more meals than we ever have. ” noted Fr. John Hardin of St. Anthony Foundation.

For 58 years St. Anthony Foundation has helped heal individuals and families by providing free, life sustaining support for the poor and homeless. St. Anthony Foundation’s programs offer gateways to escaping poverty by addressing immediate needs such as hunger and clothing, as well as long term needs such as employment, drug and alcohol addiction, and physical and mental health. St. Anthony Foundation does not accept any federal, state, or local government money, and is entirely funded by private donations.

MEDIA ALERT
SPEAKER of the HOUSE NANCY PELOSI and STATE SENATOR MARK LENO
AT ST. ANTHONY’S on SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8th
WHERE: St. Anthony Dining Room
45 Jones Street (near Golden Gate)
DATE: Sunday, February 8, 2009
TIME: 12:00 p.m. Blessing by Fr. John Hardin, OFM
12:10 p.m. Serving of the 35th Millionth Meal
12:30 p.m. Press Conference*