We Are All One Family

“A lot of CERI’s community members were feeling the burden of caring for their families, so when we proposed that we could deliver meals, they were thrilled. A lot of our community members have never had meals delivered and they haven’t had delivery from Cambodian restaurants in the past because of cost. So it was a huge treat to have these Cambodian meals delivered.”

Kate Wadsworth, CERI’s Clinical Director

***

The pandemic caused an interruption in CERI’s programs, but we are figuring out new ways to support our communities and prevent isolation.

One way that we are strengthening community is through food distribution efforts. First we worked with Oakland Unified School District and delivered nearly 5000 meals to families. Then we moved to purchasing and delivering groceries to our community members each week.

In July and August, we partnered with World Central Kitchen and family owned restaurants -- Phnom Penh, Cambodian Street Food, and Nyum Bai-- distributing 1500 cooked meals per week either through home deliveries or pick up hours outside of CERI’s office in Oakland.

Since March we have distributed over 17,000 meals. By doing so, we brought together not only CERI’s Khmer community members, but our entire neighborhood including Vietnamese and Burmese communities and people who are currently houseless. Throughout the experience, people have been so appreciative not only for the food, but also for the connection.

We are thankful for our volunteers -- Vivian, Miles, Olivia, Avrah, Lulu, Eliza and Elena, Roeun-- and our dedicated CERI staff, especially Min, Thavery, Sophal, Sandra, Laura, Patricia,Trang, Joe, Leva, and Kanley who were consistently a part of this work.

We are in deep awe of our Clinical Director, Kate, who modeled our value to be community-led and spearheaded these efforts on top of her typical workload and despite the fact that this work was outside of our planned programming for the year.

We continue to learn about resilience from our communities, who have experienced war, genocide, refugee camps, journeying thousands of miles, resettlement, violence here in the U.S., and more, and yet continue to find joy and laughter and ways to connect and build networks of mutual aid even when the conditions separate us. 

***

If you want to learn more about CERI’s food distribution or other programs during COVID-19, please contact us at info@cerieastbay.org.

***

Be a community champion by signing up to be a monthly donor and maximizing your impact.

The generosity of donors such as yourself, has enabled our passionate and committed staff to continue their work even during this dire time.

***

Stay in Touch: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram