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Martha’s Kitchen was delighted to serve such a large turnout for their inaugural senior lunch service at the Pauline Valdivia Memorial Community Center on July 1, 2025. With multiple City and County officials in attendance, Executive Director Bill Lee addressed the crowd explaining, “Food is just a part of it. Getting people out and back into life, mixing and socializing with each other so that people aren’t isolated is a big part of what we’re doing here.”
Martha’s Kitchen will be serving the seniors of San Benito County with daily hot lunch services from Monday through Friday at 12:00 PM in the Community Center, 300 West Street, Hollister. in addition to a Meals on Wheels program that will deliver freshly cooked, frozen meals to homebound seniors. Please spread the word to other seniors in the community to come and take advantage of this resource.
The nutritious shepherd’s pie lunch was coordinated and served by the wonderful and
passionate Martha’s Kitchen San Jose staff: Trish Garcia – Operations Manager, David Perez-Rascon – Assistant Operations Manager, Rita Castellanos – Program Manager, Kendra Lanham – Director of Community Outreach; and Martha’s Kitchen’s Hollister staff: Heather Wall – Hollister Site Manager, Kat Dubinsky and Loni Derasin – Cooks, and Melissa Sosa –Administrator.
Bill Lee thanked the Seniors Council for spearheading this new Martha’s Kitchen initiative in Hollister, highlighting those in attendance: Clay Kempf – Executive Director, Wayne Norton – Board Member, and Tami Avilas – Board President. He also thanked the City of Hollister for making space available to rent to support the program, notably the City Manager, David Mirrione, and the Parks and Recreation Director, Charles Wall, who were both in attendance.
In addition, Andres Rodriguez was in attendance representing Speaker Robert Rivas to present Martha’s Kitchen with a California Legislature Assembly Resolution honoring Martha’s Kitchen as the 29th Assembly District’s 2025 Nonprofit of the Year. Martha’s Kitchen was presented with the award in Sacramento back in May, honoring the nonprofit’s impact in Santa Clara County and surrounding communities.
Martha’s Kitchen has been helping deliver food in San Benito County for the last 6.5 years,
mostly behind-the-scenes. Partnering with other community groups, such as Linda Lampe’s Food Angels, Linda recognized Martha’s Kitchen’s impact on the community, “We could not do it without Martha’s Kitchen, and we are so grateful for this partnership.” Food Angels hands out groceries to 350-400 families per week, every Saturday from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM at R.O. Hardin Elementary School. Martha’s Kitchen is instrumental in providing them with groceries to ensure hunger is kept in check in this community.
As Martha’s Kitchen begins this new program in Hollister, they invite locals to help by
volunteering. Volunteers are the backbone of the amazing work Martha’s Kitchen does in the community. To get involved or learn more, visit their website: https://www.marthas-
kitchen.org/volunteer