1000: A Milestone

It really is quite remarkable. 1000 households in Paradise and Magalia have a green bag to feed the hungry.

In five months. 1000! This cool green bag has demonstrated what an incredibly caring community we live in.

And along the way a great group of folks in Magalia are now planning on opening a supplemental food pantry in Magalia. It should be up and running by our June pick up date (June 11, 2011) and we will deliver bags picked up in Magalia right to the Magalia Food Pantry warehouse.

Our ultimate goal is 2000 households. Please tell a friend. They can call (876-8448) and we will fill out the sign up form and they will get a cool green bag posthaste.

Notes on our second pick up

This nice couple signed up for the first cool green bag in Paradise/Magalia. The told some friends, who told some friends, who told….and the cool green bag story was born.

Seventeen short weeks later 41 volunteer drivers picked up 802 cool green bags and delivered 12,240 pounds of non-perishable food to four local food pantries . Over 6 tons!!!!

Their shelves were close to bare and now they are full to the ceilings.

Best of all these food pantries have started to add new families who have been waiting for a helping hand and (this is as important) these local food pantries are now able to give more food to the families with children.

And we are now working with a group of caring folks in Magalia to start a supplemental food pantry in Magalia. The cool green bag program would be able to supply them with their non-perishable needs.

One can make a difference.

FIT TO BE TIED

Fit One, the fine fitness and wellness center in Paradise is a great supporter of A Simple Gesture food collection program.

They had a contest in March to see how many of their customers they could sign up to our program. With four days to go they have hit 100 greenbaggers.

Their customers are fit, smart and great community supporters. We are impressed and giddy with delight and fit to be tied.

Thank you Fit One

Paradise Post Article February 15, 2011

A Simple Gesture

By Paul Wellersdick Staff Writer
Posted: 02/15/2011 01:00:00 AM PST

Megan Hollingworth, a 16-year-old senior at CORE Butte Charter School, helps sort food donations...

A new private non-profit venture collected 6,400 pounds of non-perishable food Saturday, stocking two local church food banks with more than three tons of food to give to hungry Ridge families.

By 11 a.m., 15 volunteers at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church received 100 bags of food from the program called "A Simple Gesture." At Ridge Presbyterian Church’s Pearson Road office, church representatives collected even more, stocking the church’s new pantry full of goods to give out.

A Simple Gesture borrowed a successful idea from an Ashland, Ore. program and brought it to Paradise through an 11-year-old foundation by the same name, founders Karen and Jonathan Trivers said.

Read more ...

What Does 6400 lbs. Look Like?

Saturday, February 12, 2011 thirty volunteer drivers picked up 400 cool green bags and delivered them to our local food pantries.

6400 Pounds. And this was just our first time out. Your generosity is overwhelming. But best of all, these local food pantries will be expanding the number of people they serve. All because of 400 incredibly generous greenbaggers.