GrassrootsIn 1970, Tri-City Volunteers, Inc. was founded by Bay Area resident Grace Draper. The small nonprofit was then an all-volunteer powerhouse distributing food, clothing and household items to Southern Alameda County families in desperate need of simple necessities. Just like many Silicon Valley start-ups, Grace worked out of her garage, accessing funds from a "thrift store" co-opted to support her food program and totally dependent on the generosity and skills of volunteers. Today, we still rely heavily on volunteer assistance. Despite a very small staff, in FY 2013-2014, we proudly distributed 6 million pounds of food with a retail value of more than $8.5Mbto some 6,000 very-low income families. Our annual volunteer contingent is composed of more than 2,000 hard-working students, local residents and corporate employees seeking to "give back" to their community. We retain our thrift store too. It generates a third of the revenues we need to cover the costs of sustaining our nutritious, large scale free food programs. Learn more at: www.tri-cityvolunteers.org.Mission"To eliminate hunger and promote financial self-sufficiency in Alameda County and beyond, by distributing food and affordable resources, and providing volunteer opportunities and quality job training in order to improve the quality of life for all in our community, especially children, youth, youth with disabilities, low-income families and seniors."Vision"To be California's leading client-direct food bank by providing the highest possible quality food, and services that address the social causes of hunger."