Sister Jeanette Braun, Founding Director, and Kerri Conlon, Program Director of
Table of Plenty.
Table of Plenty’s mission is to offer a safe haven to hungry and lonely people in our Coastside
community. Every Thursday night — 52 weeks a year — we provide a warm, satisfying meal for our
guests, served in restaurant-style accompanied by live music. This hospitality honors the dignity and
sacredness of each person, fosters companionship and community, and promotes volunteerism.
Table of Plenty served its first supper over a decade ago in January 2013. And every Thursday evening
since, our dedicated volunteers have created a festive dining room complete with tablecloths, dinnerware and fresh flowers. Each guest is warmly welcomed by our servers dressed in black aprons.
We serve struggling families, seniors, and people without homes.
Since we began, Table of Plenty has served more than 115,000 meals to people in need in our coastal community. Each week’s meal serves at least 150 neighbors both in our dining room and through packaged delivered meals.
Our mission also promotes volunteerism, including fostering inter-generational and family volunteering and training middle and high school students. Our volunteers range in age from 12-85+ years. This diverse group works together to prepare a lovely dining room, cooks healthy 3-course meals, serves our guests dinner and cleans up afterwards every Thursday evening. Many of our students are experiencing volunteerism for the first time at Table of Plenty. We conduct partnerships with local middle and high schools engaging students in volunteering and encouraging at a young age a lifelong commitment to volunteerism. We also award scholarships to students who demonstrate dedication, empathy and passion for serving our Table of Plenty community. Our volunteer group, which numbers over 100 people, brings smiles, warmth and kindness to our guests, many of whom hunger for more than food.
We serve the hungry and isolated in Half Moon Bay and the Coastside of San Mateo County. Although the second wealthiest county in the country, San Mateo County has a hunger index higher than the national norm. This situation affects women and children primarily, and the Coastside is home to many lower income farm workers and their families.
Our cherished partners and collaborators include: Senior Coastsiders, Coastside Hope, Abundant Grace, IDES, Peninsula Food Runners, San Francisco Baking Institute, Pasta Moon, Fish Wife Sweets Shop, the Half Moon Bay Library, and many of you, our faithful donors, who help make it all possible.
