We were so grateful to have been part of Sonoma Family Meal’s mission to continue feeding those in need. This Sonoma County Nonprofit has done so much good through turmoil and devastation all throughout our beloved home.
After the Tubbs Fire roared through Sonoma County in 2017, wiping out neighborhoods in Santa Rosa and destroying nearly 3,000 structures in the city, Heather Irwin watched the chaos unfold and knew immediately what she could do to help.
Irwin, a food editor for a local newspaper, started a meal program at a local restaurant to feed those affected by the fire. She named the program Sonoma Family Meal, and rallied chefs from the Sonoma County food community together to cook meals for displaced families, first responders and those otherwise in need.
“We had people pull up to our distribution spots, people who were living out of their cars. To see my friends and neighbors show up in the lines was very tough,” Irwin said. “The man who later became our attorney showed up and got food from us.”
Four weeks after the Tubbs Fire, the nonprofit had cooked and served more than 200,000 meals.
But the string of disasters in Sonoma County had just begun. Sonoma Family Meal (SFM) volunteers cooked 8,000 meals for those displaced by the 2019 Sebastopol floods and the Kincade Fire. From the onset of the COVID pandemic through March 2021 the nonprofit served 250,000 meals, including for those in desperate need of food after the 2020 August Complex Fire.
Prior to the pandemic, volunteers cooked meals in facilities with large kitchens, or at venues like the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. Because of COVID restrictions, the nonprofit has partnered with restaurants to cook the meals, and it has paid $1.7 million to its partner restaurants to do so.
To qualify as an SFM restaurant partner, the business must cook using local ingredients and employ enough workers to properly handle the meal packaging and distribution. The nonprofit must also know and trust the chefs.
“The restaurants tend to be well known, like John Ash & Co. and The Girl & the Fig,” Irwin said. A spokesperson from The Girl & the Fig said the restaurant supplied SFM more than 23,000 meals last year.
Sonoma Family Meal also provides food to various local organizations, including family groups, women’s shelters and underserved communities struggling through emergencies. To determine who is eligible for food, the nonprofit relies on information from Sonoma County public agencies. “That way, we don’t have to case manage,” Irwin said.
As part of Sonoma Family Meal’s Wine and Dine fundraiser, donors will receive a meal for four from SingleThread as well as a tasting for two at Hook & Ladder Winery. (Photo courtesy of Hook & Ladder Winery)
SFM funds its operations through grants and donations. This month, Hook & Ladder Winery, in partnership with Healdsburg’s three Michelin-starred SingleThread, will hold a Wine and Dinefundraiser on two separate weekends (Sunday, June 13 & 27), with proceeds going to the nonprofit.
For a $199 ticket, a donor will receive a take-home meal for four from SingleThread, similar to what the restaurant cooks for Sonoma Family Meal. The ticket also includes two bottles of wine and a tasting for two at Hook & Ladder.
“Food is not just calories. It nourishes people’s souls,” Irwin said. “I see people who say they got food from us after the Tubbs Fire and it makes me cry. It’s what makes me want to continue the project.”