Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan Names Open Heart Kitchen Nonprofit of the Year

Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan Names Open Heart Kitchen Nonprofit of the Year
 
[LIVERMORE, CA] — Open Heart Kitchen, the Tri-Valley’s largest nonprofit nutrition provider, has been named the Assembly District 16 Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda).
 
Founded in 1995 as a small interfaith effort to address hunger in the Tri-Valley, Open Heart Kitchen has grown into a full-scale food justice organization serving free meals daily across Pleasanton, Livermore, and Dublin. In three decades, it has distributed more than 8 million meals - and in 2025 alone, served just shy of one million meals.
 
In March 2025, Open Heart Kitchen opened the Tri-Valley’s first-ever food bank: a 19,000-square-foot warehouse in Livermore capable of redistributing 3 million pounds of food annually to nine local partner pantries. The food bank distributed the equivalent of nearly 837,000 meals in its first year.
This growth happened against a punishing backdrop. When the federal ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Act, otherwise known as HR1, was signed into law, it enacted the largest cuts to SNAP in the program's history, slashing roughly $187 billion over a decade and reducing benefits for an estimated 4 million people. During the 2024 government shutdown, Open Heart Kitchen lost an anticipated $850,000 in federal reimbursement when the nationwide Community Project Funding program allocated zero dollars for the fiscal year, leaving OHK to absorb the cost of its new food bank on its own. The organization enacted budget cuts, froze hiring, and dipped into reserves. As more Tri-Valley families lose food assistance and turn to local nonprofits to fill the gap left by partisan budget cuts, Open Heart Kitchen has become a critical lifeline for the Tri-Valley community.
 
“Now more than ever, organizations like Open Heart Kitchen are not a backup plan; they are the plan,” said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. “Recognizing them this year isn’t just about celebrating what they’ve built. It’s about elevating their critical work and proclaiming that the state of California stands behind them. I am honored to name them the Assembly District 16 Nonprofit of the Year.”
 
Executive Director John Bost said, “Our staff, board, volunteers, and supporters are profoundly grateful for Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan’s recognition and support of Open Heart Kitchen’s mission. More than a charity, Open Heart Kitchen represents essential community infrastructure and investment that affirms the importance of ensuring Tri-Valley neighbors can access nourishing food in ways that uphold dignity, strengthen community, and remind every person that they are valued and worthy of care. Together, we are building a community where no one is left behind and where compassion is put into action every single day.”
 
Open Heart Kitchen operates year-round, with no qualifying process and no barriers to entry. Everyone is welcome.
To learn more about Open Heart Kitchen, visit openheartkitchen.org.
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