Letters to the Editor for February 27, 2026

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Diggity Dogg to Close on March 22, FAAS Thanks Volunteers and Shoppers

To the Editor:

For almost a year, the Diggity Dog ^[2] has been more than a thrift store. It has been a place where generosity meets purpose — where every donated item and every purchase helped turn compassion into action for animals in need.

After thoughtful planning and careful consideration, the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to close the Diggity Dog, and so its final operating day will be March 22.

This was not an easy choice. The Diggity Dog has built a loyal, caring community, and its impact has reached far beyond its walls. But as we look to the future, our mission remains unchanged. We believe focusing our resources more directly on our core life-saving programs will strengthen our ability to serve animals and the people who love them. That commitment continues every day. We are also grateful to share that our companion store, the Thrifty Kitty, will remain open. The Thrifty Kitty continues to support FAAS’s mission, and we hope you will visit, donate, and shop there as a meaningful way to stay connected to this work.

In the coming weeks, the Diggity Dog will host a series of closing sales as we wind down operations. We invite you to stop by, thrift some great deals, and help us close this chapter with the same warmth and community spirit that has always defined the Alameda and FAAS community. You can find more information about those closing sale events by visiting our website at thediggitydog.org ^[3].

To our incredible Diggity Dog staff and volunteers — thank you so very much. Your dedication, kindness, and belief in this mission have made a lasting difference for countless animals.

We know this news may bring mixed emotions. Please know that your continued support — through adoption, fostering, volunteering, shopping at Thrifty Kitty, and giving — keeps our life-saving work strong.

Thank you for standing with FAAS and for believing in our mission of sheltering, caring for, and rehoming abandoned companion animals in Alameda.

With deep appreciation and gratitude,

Adrien Abuyen, FAAS CEO
FAAS Board of Directors
The Entire FAAS Team

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To the Editor:

As spring sports season begins, Alameda Little League and Alameda Soccer Club should eliminate the practice of expecting parents to provide teams with post-game snacks. Alameda Youth Basketball and all other local youth sports leagues should do the same before their next seasons begin.

The post-game snack tradition traps families in an expectation of spending excessive amounts of money on unhealthy snacks that generate obscene amounts of waste, often for 15 or more kids at a time. Team snacks cause problems in three important areas:

1. Equity. A full set of snacks for a team of 12 kids plus siblings can easily cost $50 or more. This means the sports leagues provide scholarships to help low-income families participate but still expect them to drop $50 on snacks, a significant hardship, sometimes twice per season. Even for families who can afford the expense, it’s an obligation that falls well outside our normal budget priorities.
2. Waste. Multiply a granola bar, chips, fruit snacks, a paper bag, and a juice box by 15 and you’ve just made 75 pieces of needless trash—all for forgettable snacks that get eaten or thrown away within five minutes.
3. Health. Some families strive to provide healthy-ish snacks when it’s their turn (although these typically cost more). Others simply hand out candy. Either way, the result is a heavy dose of salt, grease, and sugar that many of us would never otherwise feed our children but team snacks make it impossible to avoid.

The only way to really free families from this unnecessary waste and burden is a league-wide policy. Our family nixed team snacks when we coached soccer last spring, but that left our kids looking at other teams wondering why they didn’t receive the same bounty. If individual families opt out of providing snacks, they face spoken or unspoken questions about why they were the only ones not to contribute.

The simple alternative is for each family to feed their own child. Do kids love team snacks? Sure. But that’s only because they’ve been taught to expect them. We can easily teach them to expect something else.

Grace Rubenstein & Jim Daly

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To the Editor:

The Foodbank Players are beginning their fifth season of supporting the Alameda Food Bank by performing at the food bank! Our first play of 2026 will be William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which will be staged in the lobby of the new Food Bank building at 677 West Ranger Avenue on March 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 at 7 p.m.

In the early years, the Players rehearsed in the old Food Bank trailer on Thau Way for our outdoor performances at Webster Park ^[4] (formerly the Healing Garden). Once the new Food Bank opened, Director Teale Harden suggested that it might be nice to bring the actors and audiences to the actual place that their efforts have supported. We then had the pleasant task of figuring out how to stage a play in the new space. Much of it was effortless—the comfy chairs used for checking in shoppers will seat playgoers, the meeting rooms will be used as dressing rooms, and the beautiful decor of the lobby will serve as the performance space for this modern version of Much Ado, set not in Milan, but Hollywood.

While the Foodbank Players consider Webster Park to be our home base, the Food Bank will offer many wonderful amenities for the philanthropic theater troupe, including a spacious parking lot, a warm and well-lit stage and seating area, and lovely bathrooms. There’s even a water bottle refilling station for those who wish to stay hydrated.

Seating at the Food Bank for Much Ado will be intimate and somewhat limited. The performance space can hold 50 people on a first come, first served basis. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. shows.

This marks The Foodbank Players fifth season. Donations from our first four years, 15 plays total, have been over $50,000. Those who wish to donate to the Food Bank may do so in cash or with QR codes at the show, or may donate directly to the Alameda Food Bank on their website, alamedafoodbank.org ^[5].

Thank you for your support.

Gene Kahane
Artistic Director, The Foodbank Players