Mercy Brown Bag Program

06/17/2026

Local Plums are in season! Thank you Oakland Gleaners for this beautiful bounty! Headed straight to the homes of low-income seniors in Alameda County!

06/15/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our Volunteer Appreciation party! We had such a blast celebrating our 600+ wonderful volunteers, who make our program what it is today! We couldn't do this without you, thank you for helping feed the seniors of Alameda County!

06/04/2026

In the month of May alone, we served over 2,700 shoppers, and almost 14,000 since the beginning of the year. We couldn't do it without our amazing team of volunteers, pictured here is Vivian, Doug, Mary, and Donna!

You can learn more about joining the team at mercybrownbag.org/volunteer/!

06/01/2026

Happy June! Our food recovery program has been continuing to grow, and we are excited to see what this new month will bring! Thank you to Sprouts Farmers Market for this beautiful donation of eggs, that may have otherwise gone to waste!

05/20/2026

We had the pleasure to attend a California Association of Food Banks Food as Medicine session. Feeding America reports that neighbors who receive healthy food interventions show a 14% decrease in hospitalizations and 11% decrease in emergency visits. One more reason why your support is so important to the seniors of Alameda County!

05/18/2026

We are so excited to announce the launch of food distributions at the Dublin Senior Center! Our first operation was a great success, serving over 45 when we only expected 15! This number is expected to grow even more as the word gets out.

A special shoutout to Kari, our new Development Manager, jumping in to assist!

Distributions at Dublin Senior Center will occur once a month on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, 9:30-10:30 am! Please spread the word to any low-income seniors (60+) you know who may need food assistance, and visit our website for more information or to contact us with any questions!

05/13/2026

This month, Pope Leo’s call to prayer centers on food insecurity — a message that feels especially meaningful during Older Americans Month. At a time of economic instability, supporting older adults facing hunger is more important than ever. Thank you to our incredible community for helping us continue to provide nourishment, care, and dignity to seniors throughout Alameda County.

Check out the video here:
https://youtu.be/-a60VaSe3tY?si=QYruTN1YJTsedRMn

Today, millions of people continue to suffer from hunger. This threatens the dignity of the most vulnerable and questions the way we live and share our resou...

05/06/2026

We are so excited to be working with Semifreddis Bakery! They have already donated 100s of pounds of delicious bread which has been a hit in our grocery bags, and are committed to many more donations! Thank you Semifreddi's!

05/04/2026

Happy Monday!

Here are a few of our wonderful senior volunteers in action to brighten your week! They distributed bags full of fresh groceries to all 58 of Cottonwood's residents in under an hour!

05/01/2026

Our star team of volunteers ready to serve at Beth Asher in Oakland! Seniors helping seniors for the win!