On December first the Valley lost one of its brightest lights, Elizabeth Kemp. In a lifetime of service, Elizabeth was not just a tireless worker, but was so in tune with humanity’s needs that she opened the eyes of our community and blessed us with ways to serve the unnoticed and overlooked. With her friend Mary Shea she started camps for vineyard workers, first through local churches and eventually under the auspices of a newly formed Vineyard Workers Services, whose board she directed. Also a member of the La Luz board, Elizabeth in her last years devoted her time and energy to the S.O.S. homeless shelter, serving on its board as well. Below, in an interview originally published exactly two years ago, she talks about her “brown bag” work. A visionary for the poor, she was described by a longtime resident as “the Mother Teresa of Sonoma.”
Tell me about Sonoma’s Brown Baggers, Elizabeth
It started a long time ago as part of the Vineyard Workers Services program. We’d provide food to the residents in a migrant camp at St. Leo’s, here for the harvest. Other workers were living under bridges by creeks and the local churches helped organize a program to feed them. It’s changed over the years; in 1985 I was making sandwiches with Evelyn Berger, then for the last 16 years we’ve been making burritos at St. Leo’s and delivering them to hungry people on the streets.
How many people do you feed?
Well, we deliver 80-90 burritos, and on Mondays we hand out food to the homeless. Every Wednesday we serve up to 40 free meals at The Grange to anyone who stops by. On Fridays we offer a free dinner at La Luz from 4 – 5:30 P.M. We often have 50 people show up for that. We also work with The Haven homeless shelter in Sonoma. The Haven is wonderful, and offers a drop-in service to homeless people who need a place to shower and safely rest for a while.
Wow. That’s quite something. How do you fund all this?
We depend on many sources. We get some institutional grants, like from foundations. Others, like the Vintner’s Association and Westamerica Bank help out financially to help cover food costs. And we get lots of food donated from scores – day old food from various markets, uneaten prepared food from catering companies and the like. Sometimes we’ve overwhelmed by food donations. Our cooks are mostly women volunteers.
I hear a British accent. Are you from England?
Yes, I was born in England and moved to Sonoma in 1968. There was only one stoplight in the whole town. We ended up with five kids and 10 grandkids; six grandkids are currently in local schools.
Tell me why you’re so committed to feeding others?
I was raised during WW2. At that time London was being bombed, and I recall standing in the front yard of our home handing out sandwiches to the fire fighters. Mother always took care of people, and it rubbed off on me. My three siblings are the same; helping others rubbed off on the whole family! I believe we have an obligation to others, to look out for others. Sometimes it’s not easy, but everyone needs human warmth and concern. My ethical belief is that we all have that responsibility. I do what I can. My husband and I have been fortunate. You can’t complain, you just get up and do it. I’ll do it ’till I drop.
The community is very lucky to have you.
People are in need and have problems. Many people here don’t know, and perhaps don’t want to know, about it. Affordable housing, for one, is a huge problem. Frankly, government makes it harder by being too narrow-minded and providing too little money for people in need. The Haven, for example, gets only $30,000 from local government but has operating expenses of $288,000.
What plans are in place to keep Brown Baggers going into the future?
We need younger people to help us. Brown Baggers will go on. Or, it won’t.
Interview by Larry Barnett
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