Photograph by Paul Myers

Louise Hansen has volunteered at St. Luke's food pantry for the past seven years. The pantry distributes food every Tuesday.

St. Luke's opens its pantry to the needy

By Shari Kaplan

While the old saying asserts there's no such thing as a free lunch, St. Luke's Episcopal Church has been proving that wrong week after week, year after year with its Food Pantry and Homeless Program.

Thanks to tangible donations of money, food and clothing and intangible donations of time, the church remains successful in its mission to help people help themselves, without regard to their ethnic, religious or social backgrounds.

Each Tuesday, volunteers ranging from schoolchildren to longtime parishioners hand out bags of groceries, serve soup and sandwiches, offer clean, used clothing and pass out food coupons to the one to two dozen people who convene weekly at the church's 20 University Ave. campus, according to Outreach Director Jo Greiner.

The groceries comprise hearty foods like beef chili, peanut butter and canned tuna and ham. Fruit cocktail and canned pudding are thrown in for good measure, Greiner says, as is fruit from volunteers' trees, when in season.

Involved in the program since 1996, Greiner says it originally provided just food staples and coffee. "Then I thought, 'Let's up the ante! Why not serve hot soup and make sandwiches, too?'" she recalls.

"Not everybody in the community is sympathetic. Some think this is going to bring more homeless people to town, but that's not so," Greiner adds. "The local community of homeless is very protective. They're the first ones to get rid of outsiders causing trouble."

Although many clients are homeless, some are also local families living in mobile homes or small apartments who are barely making ends meet. "To serve without judgement" is what the program does, Greiner says.

"St. Luke's provides a meeting place where our unhoused--and barely housed--clients can gather and share their stories with the volunteers, and with each other," she says.

"Tuesdays also provide an opportunity for churches and schools in Los Gatos to send food servers," adds Greiner, who says Fisher Middle School, St. Mary's Church and School, Skyland Church and Los Gatos United Methodist Church have all been involved.

A retired schoolteacher, Greiner says she feels like both an instructor and a student in the St. Luke's program.

"I sometimes call it my class that never graduates, but some of [the clients] do get out and make new lives for themselves. That makes me feel really good!" she says. "I feel like they're my extended family. I remember one person said, 'I can't go home anymore. You're all the family I have.'"

Her favorite success story is that of Charlotte, a former client who delivered a baby outside the church one night. "She showed up at the pantry later and said, 'We're hungry!'" Greiner says, recalling her shock at seeing the newborn.

The church provided temporary shelter for the pair, as Charlotte was afraid Santa Clara County Social Services would take the baby away. Thanks to a benefactor known to St. Luke's staff, Charlotte and the baby lived for a year and a half in the Central Valley. They later were reunited with Charlotte's husband and obtained housing in the South Bay through the Emergency Housing Consortium.

Another success story is St. Luke's night watchman and pantry host Victor Sakellar. Once homeless himself, Sakellar, an artist, now lives at St. Luke's and helps keep things running smoothly. He also has a day job at a local business.

"Vic is wonderful and makes all the right calls. I'm really proud of how he's become a valuable member of the community. He is a treasure," Greiner says.

Another treasure to Greiner is 11-year-old Fisher Middle School student Kate Braham. Kate had gotten her family involved in donating spare change to charity, and she is the biggest donor--sometimes even adding paper money.

"Then one day, my mom and I counted the money and finally donated it. We had raised $64! After that, I went home feeling so good because I knew I had helped other people and that I wasn't being selfish and spending the money on myself," Kate explains.

In gratitude, Greiner took Kate and her mother to a surplus store, where Kate helped pick out sleeping bags, blankets and gloves for the St. Luke's clients.

Greiner says she hopes everyone will consider putting aside one dollar a week for those who truly need it. "As Kate said to us, 'It was easy and so fun to do,'" Greiner adds.

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For more information about the St. Luke's Food Pantry and Homeless Program, call 408.354.2195.

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