At Spice Monkey, last-minute food donations meet goal

By Evan Wagstaff | November 30, 2010
Food bank volunteers pack meals for children with cereal, milk, beans and rice. Photo courtesy of the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

A week before Thanksgiving, Spice Monkey Café and Restaurant co-owner Kanitha Matoury had been worried that food donations would fall short of her 1,000 pound goal. The restaurant, located at 1628 Webster Street, hosts one of several food drives in downtown Oakland aimed at stocking the food pantries, soup kitchens, and senior centers served by the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

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Thanksgiving a week away, but the giving is slow

By Shirley Lau | November 18, 2010
Alameda County Community Food Bank

Four three-foot high barrels resembling oversized soup cans sit at Spice Monkey Café and Restaurant in downtown Oakland. Each is emblazoned with photos of smiling children and has “Donate Food Here!” stamped across the black and red label. One barrel is filled with nonperishable canned goodies. Another is half full. And two are completely empty.

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