• Get an eScrip card at Oliver's Market
• Pick up a Ceres soup or deli salad at Whole Foods Market (look for the signs)
• Selling a home? Visit mybrokerdonates.com
• Sell an item or service at giveplace.com and designate us to receive some or all of the proceeds
• Make a Legacy Gift to Ceres. Email deborah@ceresproject.org for details.
• Give Nourishing Connections Cookbooks as gifts

Dear Friends,

I hope you received the letter I sent last week, sharing with you some of the moving words of thanks our clients have sent us. Each week, we read some of these notes to our teen and adult volunteers, but the notes are really meant for all of us who come together to make Ceres' magic happen each week.   

This food is such a miracle. When I think about it, I cry. If I didn't have this service, everything would be so different.

Every time I open a meal from Ceres, I realize I would not be eating at all if it were not for your help. 

Whether you're a donor of time or funds, in-kind goods or services, a business sponsor or community partner, I hope you'll read and take in the enormous difference your gifts are helping to create in the lives of people in our community who are dealing with a serious illness.

And I hope you'll join me in making a financial contribution to help us deliver more than 40,000 meals this year (nearly 50% more than last year) to clients throughout Sonoma County, so that more people whose lives have been turned upside down by a diagnosis of cancer or another life-threatening illness can say:  

We feel nourished, nurtured, and deeply held in this community.

Ceres is truly a miracle...

You are all a special part of building that Bridge of Hope for so many others like me.  

Please give as generously as you can so we can be there as a community for our friends and neighbors. And remember, no matter how much you give today, your support is making a life-changing difference for the clients we serve and the teens who prepare their meals. Your investment in Ceres brings hope, builds community, provides vital nourishment, and gives our young people a vision that together we can create a vibrant and caring future. 

Click here to donate now online! 

 I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter. As always, we welcome your feedback.  

Thank you for being a part of the Ceres Community Project family. 

P.S. If you prefer to mail a check, you may do so to PO Box 1562, Sebastopol, CA  95473  

Harvest of the Heart Gala Auction Preview  

event, with fine wines and appetizers, a 3-course Ceres-style meal, a client and a teen sharing their stories, and a terrific silent and live auction.  

Here are just a few of the many exciting auction items you'll be able to bid on. We predict some stiff competition for:  

A stay in Moshin Vineyards guest house, complete with private tour and wine tasting.

A week's stay at a beautiful Matzatlan condo

Jeroboam of 2007 Shafer Hills Select Cabernet, rated 98 points!

Japanese Tea Ceremony for up to 12 guests at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center

Animal Tracking and Bird Language guided walk with internationally certified tracker, Jim Sullivan

A foursome round of golf at Bodega Harbour Golf

Sailing on the San Francisco Bay 

And much, much more, including restaurant certificates, amazing wines, beautiful jewelry and leather goods, and priceless experiences.  

Our enormous gratitude to all of the sponsors, donors and volunteers who have come together to create this event in support of Ceres work.   

"Ceres is a comprehensively fantastic organization"

Luke Lindenbusch had what he considers a personal victory recently: he opened his Dad's fridge to find it contained several bunches of fresh kale. Luke's father, who is a "Bar-B-Que guy" from the South, isn't the only member of the family who has changed his way of eating as a result of his son's involvement with Ceres. This year, Luke gave copies of Ceres' Nourishing Connections Cookbook to everyone in his family as gifts. He also regularly cooks meals at home.

One of the newest Teen Leaders in the Ceres kitchen, Luke wears a sparkling white (for now, at least) Chef's coat embroidered with his name and the Ceres' logo. Getting that Chef's coat is a big deal for our teens, but Luke doesn't feel that it's changed his experience in the kitchen all that much. The newer teens know that the coat means he's got a bit more experience and they can seek him out to ask questions, but Luke says that really "everyone who comes to Ceres and stays has a certain initiative and is a Teen Leader in their own right. We talk to each other and help each other out. It's a real team environment".

Ceres' Teen Chefs and Gardeners come to us from many places and for many reasons. Several of Luke's friends had talked about Ceres, and he liked the sense he had that Ceres was an integral part of our local community. But his strongest motivation for becoming a volunteer was a desire to give back after the death of his uncle in early 2011.

Luke's uncle had received Ceres meals while in treatment for prostate cancer, and Luke saw first hand the difference those meals made for his uncle, aunt and cousins. They helped his uncle be able to eat, and took a huge burden off of his aunt. His uncle lived five years after his diagnosis (when he was told he likely had about a year to live), something his family feels was partly due to Ceres' support.

On his first day in the kitchen, Luke remembers feeling "extremely welcomed" and says there was an "instant clicking with everyone". One of the other teens he met that day has become a close friend. That social aspect of Ceres is one of the things that Luke loves. Everyone "comes with different intentions-often because they want to work with a friend who is also a volunteer-but in the end, you leave with a personal connection even if you didn't come with one".

Since coming to Ceres, Luke finds that he puts more thought into what he eats, considering the impact of his food choices on his body and on the environment. He feels that when community is at the center of food, it propels people to make better choices in what they eat.

Beyond that, the biggest impact his time with Ceres has had is on "figuring out what I want to do in life: major in Public Health and Policy, maybe focusing on AIDS or cancer advocacy or research." Beyond the facts and figures that are so often focused on in working with long term illness, Luke sees the individual persons who are living with those illnesses. That is where he would like to put his focus.

Recently, Luke has been spending time working in the Ceres Community Garden, which has helped deepen his connection to Ceres. He shared that it's been "special to plant garlic, harvest it, use it in a dish in the kitchen, package the dish and then talk to a client about how it enhanced the dish".

In answer to my last question: "why should someone consider getting involved at Ceres?", Luke said "because they'll give so much and they'll get so much. They'll receive cooking and gardening skills, but also deeper connections and new friendships. They'll discover new passions. Ceres fosters passion". 

JoEllen DeNicola NE, Deanne Luzaich, NC

Snacks are an important part of a healthy meal plan to keep blood sugar and emotions stable, thinking clear, and energy up to continue with what needs to be done.   

A healthy snack will help you avoid the afternoon low that many people experience, causing them to reach for whatever is easy--often sugary snacks and processed foods with empty calories, or caffeine to pick up one's mood and energy.  

Make a snack plan, especially when out of the house where healthy food choices may be difficult to find. This is critical for those facing a serious illness, as nutrient-dense foods are more important than ever.

Some healthy snack ideas are whole fruit such as apples or oranges, raw nuts, and items that can be prepared at home such as popcorn (organic and made at home with seasonings such as nutritional yeast for an added boost). Kale chips, homemade muffins or bars made with whole grains, nuts, fruit and protein powder travel well.

Other delicious options are veggies with hummus, celery with nut butter, yogurt (plain, unsweetened organic) with or without fruit, nuts, coconut, flax, and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Kefir or coconut milk can be made into a smoothie and will keep a couple of hours. A half sandwich or wrap with lots of veggies and avocado and home roasted meat is a great pick-me-up and easy to eat. Guacamole, goat cheese and nut butters go well with whole-grain crackers. You should plan on taking a small cooler with an ice pack to keep these snacks cold.

So, next time you head out for errands or appointments, plan a healthful snack to go. You will return home feeling sated and energized!

We're pleased to offer you two recipes this month.  

Click here for Cashew Cardamom Balls, perfect for a healthy snack.  

By popular demand, Ceres Executive Chef shares a recipe for Black Bean & Sweet Potato Salad. The last time this was on our menu, three clients asked for the recipe. Here you go... 

Volunteer Job Profile:
Supplemental Product Crew

Each week in their bag of meals, our clients have the option of receiving a range of supplemental products especially designed to support them during their illness and treatment. There is no charge for these foods, and clients "order" whichever ones are helpful for them. A few of the items, such as goat milk kefir from Redwood Hill Farm and Dariy, are donated. The rest are prepared in the kitchen each week by a team of adult volunteers. This month, we asked two of those team members to tell us about this volunteer job.

Jan Turrini, who has been a Ceres volunteer for about two years, says that "the product prep team prepares some of the core daily products for clients, such as Immune Broth packages, Vital Bites (a superfood truffle containing seven adaptogenic herbs), sauerkraut, Nori Nettle Spice Blend and a smoothie mix. Some of these products can be the only thing our clients can eat at different points. Many clients have mentioned how delicious and nourishing the Immune Broth was for them. Our team prepares these each week, which takes time. This frees up the teens to prepare the rest of the menu each week. We also prepare products for sale so that people can purchase them for themselves or for family and friends". 

A typical shift- we prepare workstations for each of the products and the number of items of each that are needed. Then we get together and take a few minutes to set our intention for our work together, then we ask what each volunteer wants to work on and divide up the work. Cleaning veges, chopping, measuring smoothie mix or vital bites herbs, rolling vital bites, chopping and pounding cabbage for sauerkraut and there are always dishes to wash. The food is so beautiful as it is being prepared- it is fun to look around the room and see all the activity and the beautiful results. New volunteers work with more experienced volunteers until they feel comfortable in the various jobs."