When a resource like the Alameda Food Bank (AFB) joins forces with the Alameda All Faiths Coalition, our community benefits exponentially. Since 2018, that partnership—Dine & Connect—has provided food, fellowship, and other vital services for people experiencing homelessness here in Alameda.
The idea first came about in 2017. Immanuel Lutheran Church wanted to reach out to nearby homeless people and was trying to imagine how to accomplish that. At the same time, the City of Alameda had received a grant from the State of California to help address homelessness and was looking for a site to begin an outreach program called Dine & Connect. Other churches and community organizations got involved and soon the idea soon became a reality.
“Dine & Connect provides a free, hot, nutritious meal to those in need every Monday evening at one of several churches in our community,” the Food Bank noted in a profile of the partnership. “The AFB provides the food and volunteers prepare and serve the meal. It is a wonderful opportunity for Islanders to get to know each other and to share our common humanity.”
The menu varies, depending on what the Food Bank has in stock on a given day, but it often includes barbecue or fried chicken, meat loaf, spaghetti, a taco bar, beef stew, and a vegetarian option, along with salad, bread, and dessert.
Onsite outreach is provided by Building Futures and The Village of Love to connect unhoused guests to health, housing, social services, and resources. Some sites also work with Dignity on Wheels to provide a mobile shower and laundry service.
The Alameda County Mobile Health Van is available at Immanuel Lutheran Church on the last Monday of each month. The van works with the Alameda Health System (AHS) and provides urgent care, care coordination, and referrals to community resources. Services are provided free of charge to people experiencing homelessness. The Mobile Health Van also is available for medical and dental services on various Mondays at the Alameda Food Bank, 650 West Ranger Ave. The next date will be Monday, June 26, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 510-437-5086.
Currently, Dine & Connect is honoring COVID protocols and serving only take-out meals, but everyone involved is eager to resume sit-down dinners. The Dine and Connect meal is served at a different church site each Monday from 4 to 5 p.m. as follows:
- First Monday of each month at Twin Towers United Methodist Church, 2259 Central Ave. (at Oak Street).
- Second Monday of each month at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1323 Central Ave. (at Morton Avenue).
- Third Monday of each month at First Congregational Church, 1912 Central Ave. (at Chestnut Street).
- Last Monday of each month at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1910 Santa Clara Ave.—enter from parking lot on Chestnut Street.
- July 24 and October 23 at First Presbyterian Church, 2001 Santa Clara Ave. (at Chestnut Street).
