Community Food Bank Serving Folsom, ElDorado Hills & Granite Bay
Community Food Bank Serving Folsom, ElDorado Hills & Granite Bay
Stories of time, talent and trust shaping our next chapter.
A few weeks ago, I stood in a jar of loose change.
Not literally — but the kids at Bayside Folsom’s Vacation Bible School had spent a week collecting every coin they could find, enough to sponsor 185 students at this year’s Back 2 School Extravaganza. When they handed over that figurative jar, it didn’t feel small. It felt like the whole reason we do this work.
Those kids didn’t have a checkbook or a skillset to offer. They had coins in a jar, so that’s what they gave. Lately I’ve watched a handful of adults do the exact same thing on game changing projects that I’m working on currently: the 40th Anniversary Gala, the new farm, and the new building; it’s the same instinct at work. None of these projects are getting done by one big check or one person. They’re getting done by people who say “I’m in!” when asked to donate their skills, expertise and time. From my vantage point, I’m watching synergy in motion — each of these individuals are contributing their unique part and collectively creating a bigger and stronger food bank. Let me introduce you to a few of them.
Some gifts are measured in dollars. Others in hours behind a camera. Bill Foster and Carl Rettinger from Portlight Creative have been donating award winning film storytelling to the food bank for the last seven years. Currently, Carl is crafting our 40th Anniversary film by meticulously piecing together interviews and archival photos over four decades of neighbors feeding neighbors in Folsom. Save the date for this year’s Gala on November 7 — you won’t want to miss this milestone film.
Tim Kesselring and his wife Felice have supported the food bank for years, and this year Tim is adding something extra: his master’s degree in agronomy and decades of hands-on soil experience. Tim has been out at our new farm at Oak Hills Church, testing and amending and turning the ground itself — invisible work that will triple our produce harvests in the seasons ahead. Every tomato and head of lettuce that reaches a family’s table starts with soil someone cared enough to get right.
And then there’s Ian Cornell — a former board member who, as our current Building Committee Chairman, has given more hours than most of us will ever know. Ian has been a steady force behind securing the land for our future site, and the bridgebuilder connecting us to local government and local businesses necessary for the future construction of the new food bank. His work isn’t one dramatic moment — it’s dozens of unglamorous conversations that, one by one, is getting us closer to a permanent home.
None of them had to say “yes” but I’m so glad that they are willing to sacrifice a little of themselves; my life is certainly enriched by working with each of them. They aren’t doing it for recognition, but because they share a conviction that our hungry and vulnerable neighbors deserve better. As a result, our harvests will be bigger, our story will be richer, and our dream of a new food bank will become a reality.
Kindly,
Lisa Tuter
Through community events like the Hometown Parade, we are sharing our mission, making new connections and increasing impact.
When Lucy couldn’t drive to the food bank, a mother-daughter volunteer team brought the food bank to her.
“It’s made me realize that it is not what you get from the world that matters most, but what you bring to it. Serving others has been a very humbling experience.”
Paul Nathan Phillips is the Principal Attorney at Phillips Elder Law, a trusts and estates, probate, senior rights and litigation practice. Paul has successfully assisted victims of elder financial abuse and physical neglect, both inside and outside of court.
With nearly four decades admitted to the California Bar and qualified before state and federal courts, Paul has practiced as an associate and partner at several Los Angeles and Sacramento law firms. Paul served as General Legal Counsel for International Business Systems, an IBM-owned company with its US Office located in Folsom, where he managed the legal team and oversaw national compliance, contracts, and human resources around the country.
Paul earned two bachelor’s degrees from UCLA in 1981, in Political Science and Psychology. In 1987 he received his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. He is a member recipient of the Saint Thomas More Honor award.
Paul has volunteered as an attorney and advisor for nonprofits serving low-income workers, the homeless, tenants rights, and elder adults. Paul has led senior outreach and healthy aging efforts through several local churches. A NASM-certified senior fitness trainer, Paul continues to lead free senior fitness classes. He shares and seeks to inspire others with his optimism and sense of humor, and deep love of hiking, paddling, camping, open-water swimming and all things nature.
An avid reader and gardener, Paul is the proud father of two accomplished daughters, and four personality overflowing grandchildren.
