Open Heart Kitchen is the largest hot meal program of its kind in the Tri-Valley. It was founded in 1995 as a small, grassroots effort to address hunger in the Tri-Valley. Today Open Heart Kitchen serves meals seven days per week at multiple locations in Dublin, Livermore, and Pleasanton. In 2019, Open Heart Kitchen served more than 335,000 meals to people in need.

"Guests come from all walks of life," says Development Director Denise Bridges. "Open Heart Kitchen has become a safety net to those in need during challenging times. There is an assumption in the Tri-Valley that poverty and hunger don't exist, but that's simply not the case."

The nonprofit serves prepared, nutritious meals free of charge to the hungry people of the Tri-Valley area through three meal programs. The Hot Meals Program serves prepared, nutritious meals to anyone in need. The Weekend Bag Lunch Program serves children who utilize the free/reduced price school lunch program during the week, but are left without a secure source of nutrition on weekends and during the summer. The Senior Meal Program addresses the hunger needs of low-income seniors.

"Some of our clients who are elderly or experiencing homelessness cannot prepare meals or do not have the facilities to cook for themselves," notes Bridges. "They can come to our meal sites to eat or take meals home. Our hot meal clients often struggle with transportation, and this continues to be a challenge for our guests. We partner with a local church group that conducts an annual bus ticket fundraiser. The group donates the bus tickets to our organization, and we distribute them to guests at our Hot Meal sites."

Many local churches provide meal service sites. Since the Hot Meal sites are a perfect gathering place for Open Heart Kitchen's clients to gain exposure to other service providers and their programs, the nonprofit works with other organizations to provide outreach at those sites. The local groups hosted at Open Heart Kitchen Hot Meal sites include Spectrum, the Alameda County Community Food Bank, One Stop Career Center, Axis Community Health, Tri-Valley Haven, and Valley Humane Society. The nonprofit also does its own outreach at other agency sites such as the Tri-Valley Haven Food Pantry.

"We are making every effort to expose our clients to other resources available to them in an effort to maximize the impact on their lives when they visit our meal sites," says Bridges. "Thousands of our neighbors in the Tri-Valley are going hungry and wondering where their next meal will come from. This includes populations like the underemployed, seniors on a fixed income, and children of families struggling to get by. One in three Alameda County residents live in or near poverty."

Open Heart Kitchen relies heavily on volunteer support to meet its mission of feeding the hungry. Each week 366 volunteers are needed to prepare food and serve meals at all of the meal sites as well as 28 Tri-Valley schools. "We get feedback from volunteers and groups on how satisfying it is to be of service in their community," according to Bridges, who notes that community donations also make Open Heart Kitchen possible.

In addition to volunteering and donating to the cause online, by phone, or by mail, the community can also support Open Heart Kitchen by attending its 25th Anniversary Celebration. The fundraising gala will be held at the Palm Event Center in Pleasanton on Friday, September 11, 2020. Please see the Open Heart Kitchen website for additional details closer to the event.

For more information about Open Heart Kitchen, please visit www.openheartkitchen.org.