Patch Recommends: Did You Miss These Stories?

Here are five stories that I loved writing because they taught me more about our wonderful community. Check them out!

The food pantry at All Saints Episcopal Church in San Leandro is a great place to volunteer, to get food  on the first Saturday of every month if times are tough, and to bring your surplus garden produce as part of the nationwide food movement called gleaning.

All Saints' sister parish, Holy Cross Episcopal Church, puts in many volunteer hours at this important and generous resource, and South Hayward Parish is sharing in a grant from Waste Management to help start a similar gleaning program.

All Saints' labyrinth, an outdoor path for meditation modeled on the one at Chartres outside Paris, is open to all 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A guided meditation is held the first Sunday evening of every month. I love the generosity of this parish in opening their grounds to others. 

Resourcefulness is what it's all about these days, and I find Todd Glieden's garden in a former RV parking space truly inspiring. Vertical beds and tiered containers allow him to harvest astonishing amounts of fruit and vegetables all year long. Best of all, the former parking space is now certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

Renee Ray, Castro Valley's master composter, offers tips on how to reduce your household waste stream by turning yard waste and veggie trimmings into free, pure fertilizer for your garden. You can actually save money if you need fewer or smaller trash bins than before.

This Castro Valley standard is like a Gilley's nightclub for the 8-year-old set. I was amazed at the effort and care Dave Knudsen puts into his family-friendly dining spot. For the price of an ice cream, you can keep your youngsters occupied for hours with face painting, live children's music and other diversions—and there's free Wi-Fi, too.