Photograph by Robert Scheer
Bella Saratoga owner Bill Cooper (right) loads food for the homeless with the help of employee Joel Zeniga.
By Torre Peña
The smell of freshly baked bread and lasagna laden with beef, salami, sausage, fresh pasta and cheeses permeates the kitchen at Bella Saratoga, but the food is not destined for the customers who frequent the restaurant.
The 11 pans of lasagna and an abundance of bread and salad are headed for the Julian Street Inn, a shelter with 70 beds for the homeless and mentally ill.
"The lasagna was a big hit last year," said Bill Cooper, owner and manager of Bella Saratoga, as he helped load the food into the back of a Ford Blazer. Cooper said he believes in the program to feed the homeless and, with other Saratoga restaurants, has agreed to provide a freshly prepared dinner for 70 people at the shelter once a year.
Four years ago Bella Saratoga, then called Bella Mia, was the first restaurant to participate in the program. The restaurant recently served the lasagna dinner for the fifth time, and the reaction from the Julian Street residents was typical--a ripple of applause spreading across the dining room, ending in a rousing ovation of approval.
"I wanted to get a sense of community in Saratoga, where they could reach out to the less advantaged," said Warren Nelson, the program's founder. He enlisted the restaurants to expand the homeless feeding project at Julian Street started by the Saratoga Presbyterian Church.
"It is unique in that it is continuous around the year, and [each meal] is always freshly prepared the afternoon of the day it is actually served," Nelson said.
A different meal is provided each month from an array of premier Saratoga restaurants, including La Trattoria, La Mere Michelle, Mandarin Chef, Le Mouton Noir, Jakes of Saratoga, Viaggio Ristorante, The Plumed Horse, Dolce Vita, and Bella Saratoga.
"It's not too burdensome on the restaurants but very helpful to the residents at Julian Street," said the Rev. Richard Spencer of the Saratoga Presbyterian Church. "Now the residents have a great treat and high-quality food."
The meals reflect the menus of the best restaurants in the Santa Clara Valley. Past donations have included roasted veal, paprika chicken, lasagna, Chinese broccoli beef with rice and a dozen large pizzas from Jake's.
Joseph and Michelle Masek, owners of La Mere Michelle, are regular participants in the program. They said they are involved because they want to do their part to help the community. "There are a lot of homeless people that need help," added Joseph Masek.
A $20 menu item at the restaurant, the paprika chicken they prepare for the shelter offers a break from routine meals.
"Saratoga has been the leader in the Santa Clara Valley by each restaurant providing a meal a year," said Lourdes Pollard, the shelter's food services coordinator. "And they're fully cooked, lovely meals."
The Julian Street Inn is the only shelter in the Santa Clara County specifically serving the mentally ill who make up an estimated 25 percent of the homeless population. Besides providing a safe haven, the facility offers counseling, rehabilitative programs and links with community services for residents.
With a food budget of less than $8,000 a year, the Julian Street Inn relies on donations for a majority of its meals, and the help from restaurants is greatly appreciated, Pollard said.
Pollard hopes that other restaurants in Santa Clara County will follow Saratoga's lead in providing meals on a regular basis. "And it's tax deductible," he added.
Showing no signs of waning support, Nelson continually courts new restaurants to add to the program.
"The only ones that have stopped preparing food are the ones that have gone out of business," he said.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, October 9, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved