February 1, 2025

Dears Friend of SOS,

It’s hard to believe that we are already in February. It seems as if January just flew by.

We have spent much of our time reviewing what we have done in 2024 and making plans for 2025. Our year-end report showed a marked increase of 1,824 more meals  than last year, with a sharp increase in the cost of food, supplies, and operations.

To quote Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the US, “Good planning without good work is nothing.”

The planning involves doing an analysis of where we are spending the most money and what our needs will be for the coming year, and estimating the amount of funds that we can raise. It is difficult to anticipate this, with the possibility of Federal funding freezes, since the needs of our clients will be increased by whatever cuts are made. SOS receives no County or Federal money. We do, however, receive restricted funding from the City of Sonoma.

This week we had a visit from the newly elected Mayor of the City of Sonoma, Patricia Farrar-Rivas, and gave her a tour.

Head Chef Dan showed the inner workings of Unity Kitchen to Mayor Patricia.

SOS has an agreement with the City of Sonoma for SOS to manage and operate food distribution for people experiencing homelessness in Sonoma Valley. The City of Sonoma has budgeted ($50,000), to support these efforts. Every two weeks SOS  reports how many meals are given to homeless people, including 20 individuals living in Homeless Action Sonoma’s Home and Safe Village. Individuals who self declare as homeless make up 23% of the people whom we serve meals to. We reported 17,480 meals in 2024. We are very grateful for the City’s support and welcomed the Mayor’s visit.

Sometimes we have unexpected surprises. Thanks to Sous Chef Dawn, we received extra food from Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa.

Ryan Tatarian and Chef Michael (Chippy) Chipchase prepared extra chicken cacciatore with homemade gnocchi to bring to SOS. We are so very grateful for their generosity.

Volunteer Deborah gets ready to heat up fresh halibut with corn relish and parsley rice with broccoli to be delivered to our homebound clients.

More blessings coming up this month

Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church has graciously asked SOS to provide speakers for their Mission Sundays during the month of February. Thanks to Lora Grimes, longtime SOS Board member and part of St. Andrew’s congregation, we were able to schedule speakers for the next three Sunday services at 9:30 am:

• Dan Kahn, Head Chef, will talk about our food program and the meals that we serve.
• Mary Jue, STAR award winner, will speak about our need for volunteers and her experience as an SOS volunteer since the pandemic.
• Nathalia Zavala, Executive Assistant, will speak about the services we provide and our partnership with other nonprofits.

Saint Andrew’s has been truly a wonderful supporter of SOS for many years. We are so thankful to Pastor Nicole Trotter and her congregation for their financial support.

In order to plan for the future, it would be great to be able to count on your financial contributions in the coming year! If you could make a monthly contribution, that would be so helpful.  Please visit our website to donate online.

Gratefully,

Kathy King

Executive Director