Nov 2021
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead also known as Dia de los Muertos is a holiday originated in Mexico most often celebrated on Nov 1 or Nov 2. It's a celebration of the dead. Typically, friends and family gather to honor the deceased. The host sets up an altar or ofrenda where guests bring pictures and favorite foods/beverages of the deceased. Pops traveled to San Diego to the home of cousins Jean & Bobbie bringing offerings for the altar to honor Christopher (Chef Gonzo).
This is the altar or ofrenda honoring deceased family and friends. After sharing a meal, everyone gathered around the alter to toast the deceased and shared stories about their loved ones.
Dec 2021
Feeding the Streets
On Sunday Dec. 12th, Christopher's birthday, family and friends gathered in Sacramento to participate in the first Christopher Addison Robert Gonzales Foundation 'Feeding the Streets' event. This was something that was near and dear to Christopher. In conjunction with the Delta Christian Community Food Pantry (deltafoodpantry.com), food boxes were provided by the Contra Costa Food Bank. In addition, through generous donations, bags of clothing were available for distribution to the homeless.
The crew in a caravan of vehicles departed to homeless encampments primarily in mid-town Sacramento. Even though there was intermittent rain, the sight of people bringing food boxes to them was well received. The food boxes contained items such as pasta, peanut butter, tuna, rice, beans and canned fruit and vegetables. Can openers were also available for those in need. All the clothing and food boxes (75) were distributed. The demand was greater than our ability to deliver. This will be an annual foundation event 'Feeding the Streets'.
April 2022
WorLD Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters founded in 2010 by chef José Andrés. The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia led to millions of refugees fleeing the country. WCK was first onsite setting up camps to feed these people crossing over into Poland. In support of their efforts, the Foundation made a donation to WCK (www.wck.org) to support the Ukraine relief effort.
Dec 2022
Feeding the Streets
On Sunday Dec. 11th, family and friends gathered in Sacramento to participate in the second annual Christopher Addison Robert Gonzales Foundation 'Feeding the Streets' event. This was something that was near and dear to Christopher. In addition, through generous donations, bags of clothing, sleeping bags, blankets and tarps were available for distribution to the homeless.
The team in a caravan of vehicles departed our Sacramento home to homeless encampments primarily in mid-town Sacramento. Even though the rain was heavier than the prior year, the sight of people bringing food bags and warm clothing to them was motivation to bring them out of their tents. The food bags contained items such as mac n cheese, canned beans and vegetables, bottled water, tuna and spaghetti. All the clothing and food bags (100) were distributed. The demand was greater than our ability to deliver. This will be continuing foundation event 'Feeding the Streets'.
In addition, we did a virtual food bank in conjunction with the Sacramento Food Bank (www.sacramentofoodbank.org). For every dollar donated five meals are provided to the homeless.We reached our goal of $1000 in less than two weeks and raised over $1500.
Sept. 2023
Scholarship Recipient
In Sept. 2023, we awarded the first Christopher Addison Robert Gonzales Foundation culinary scholarship to Juan Padilla. We became aware of Juan from contacts in our community. He expressed an interest in the scholarship and we passed on an application thru his aunt. He promptly returned the application by mail and we were impressed by the thoroughness of his submission.
We met at a local diner and he shared stories about cooking for his family. Next, we met at his family house to present him with the scholarship award letter and shared a meal of queso birria tacos that he had prepared. Juan has been accepted at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) (www.ciachef.edu) and will begin his culinary education in Jan. 2024. Welcome to the Foundation family and we wish you luck on your journey!
Dec 2023
Feeding the Streets
On Saturday Dec. 9th, family and friends gathered in Sacramento to participate in the third annual Christopher Addison Robert Gonzales Foundation 'Feeding the Streets' event. This was something that was near and dear to Christopher. In addition, through generous donations, bags of clothing including socks and beanies were available for distribution to the homeless.
The team in a caravan of vehicles departed our Sacramento home to homeless encampments primarily in mid-town Sacramento. We got a break from the weather from year's past with no rain. The food bags were colorful nylon reusable drawstring backpacks and contained items such as mac n cheese, canned beans and vegetables, bottled water, tuna. spaghetti-o's and ramen. From a donation we were also able to provide hand sanitizer and sanitary wipes. All the clothing and food bags (100) were distributed. The demand was greater than our ability to deliver. This is a continuing foundation event 'Feeding the Streets'.
In addition, we did a virtual food bank in conjunction with the Sacramento Food Bank (www.sacramentofoodbank.org). For every dollar donated five meals are provided to the homeless.We reached our goal of $1000 by 12/12 and raised over $1375.