7/6/2011 – Ross Valley Reporter
by Woody Weingarten
My wife had to drag me there.
When she first suggested going, my fears of resembling a geezer surged like ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano.
I would, after all, have to admit I’m old enough to get the entree at the discounted four-buck seniors’ price.
But my brow-furrowing was unwarranted — Jackson Café is an inviting, cheery purveyor of scrumptious food.
The eaterie is an arm of Whistlestop, a nonprofit that’s been lauded for 57 years for providing services to oldsters and folks with disabilities (more than 5,000 annually).
But its hidden secret is its offspring, the 40-year-old restaurant where everyone’s welcome regardless of age or physical condition.
I find it nearly impossible to drive in Marin for any protracted length of time and not spot a vehicle run by Whistlestop. No wonder: About 50 of them make 400 trips each day of the week, taking folks shopping or to doctor’s appointments, spiritual services or other places they couldn’t get to otherwise.
On the other hand, I must have passed the café, perched across from the bus depot in San Rafael, thousands of times without noticing it there — even though it feeds 60-80 people Monday through Friday between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
My wife, who volunteers for Bread & Roses and plays piano at manifold senior facilities in Marin, learned about it from her audiences.
“Why don’t we try it out?” she proposed one day on a whim.
“We’re not needy,” I replied, oblivious that I was flaunting my ignorance about its customers.
“In no way is that a requisite,” she countered.
So we went, ate heartily, and met Joan Sanders, who commutes to the café, tucked between Third and Fourth streets at 930 Tamalpais Ave., from her home in Fairfax.
Joan, who previously worked with catering companies and event planners, carries the title café coordinator.
She accepted the post less than a year ago, after volunteering there for the previous four. Her job description? Interviewing would-be volunteers (and ensuring that their backgrounds are checked), training those who make the cut, and deciding which five will act as servers and greeters any given day.
“I shuffle them around a lot,” she told me.
Some, she said, “do it to help others, some do it for social contact. Whatever the reason, they work hard, so I make sure they get what they volunteered for.”