Earlier this year, Natasha Lopez took her love for cooking and combined it with her love of helping people and became the Salvation Army’s first kitchen manager. With the help of three cooks, Lopez is in charge of feeding more than 125 clients Monday through Friday.
The Salvation Army is known for many things: Family adoptions, toy donations, rental/housing assistance and more. But locally, one of the most meaningful impacts of the organization is its ability to feed hundreds of people in need each week.
Operation Christmas Cheer, a fundraising project sponsored by 1st Capital Bank, The Herald and the Salvation Army helps pay for some of those meals. Since 1985, it has raised more than $2.6 million for needy Monterey County families and individuals. None of the money raised goes toward administrative costs or overhead. Those wishing to contribute can visit bit.ly/OperationChristmasCheer or use coupons printed in The Herald to have personalized messages published in the newspaper.
In her role, Lopez creates monthly menus full of nutritious, hearty meals to send over to the Sabu Shake Sr. Good Samaritan Center in Sand City. She then helps cook all the meals…