Valentine’s Day fundraiser to aid Citrus Heights families in need

By Sara Beth Williams–
Residents craving coffee drinks this Valentine’s Day can help contribute funds to the Sunrise Christian Food Ministry by purchasing drinks from Dutch Bros all day on Friday.

On Feb 14, Dutch Bros will donate $1 from every drink sold to various local charities. Six Dutch Bros stores in the Sacramento area, including the two stores in Citrus Heights, will be raising donations for the Sunrise Christian Food Ministry food closet for the seventh year, Sunrise Christian Food Ministry Director of Operations April Jacek confirmed. Jacek said that over the last several years, the Dutch Bros franchise owner of those six stores has donated $40,000 through these annual fundraisers.

Several managers and assistant managers from Dutch Bros stores spent last Tuesday helping serve on site at the Sunrise Chrisitan Food Ministry ahead of the annual “Dutch Luv” fundraising event happening Friday.

“They are wonderful community partners, and very giving, and I love that they put their money where their mouth is,” Jacek said.

Stephanie Cotton, who is a manager from Dutch Bros on Auburn Boulevard in North Highlands, said she has volunteered at the Sunrise Christian Food Ministry site for the last three years and enjoys the ‘hands-on’ work of helping pack and distribute boxes and bags of food into waiting vehicles. Other volunteers from Dutch Bros also helped direct lines of families waiting in vehicles at the bottom of a hill in the parking lot of Advent Lutheran Church.

“I enjoy doing this one, because we get to meet other people that also volunteer,” Cotton said, adding that she enjoys interacting with the community and seeing how the behind-the-scenes process works.

Managers from three more Dutch Bros locations will be volunteering next week, Jacek said, including employees from store locations in Citrus Heights.

In 2023, Jacek said Dutch Bros volunteers came to help dig out a section where new concrete could then be poured to create a foundation where more food could be stored. Dutch Bros volunteers also helped move a very large and heavy container closer to the facility. With the help of various grants, the nonprofit has since added a car port and fencing around the new foundation and will continue to work on weather-proofing the area so that food can be stored safely.

When the pandemic hit, Jacek said there were 200 agencies serving Sacramento County and the Sunrise Christian Food Ministry served an average of 50 clients per day.

Following pandemic restrictions, the food ministry was one of 26 agencies that were able to remain open. In order to follow CDC health guidelines, the food distribution center readjusted the model in which they served the community by creating a drive-through where residents are able to pick up food from their vehicles.

To this day, the model remains, and Jacek said it has allowed them to continue to serve 200 families per day, where before the pandemic, the food closet served roughly 50 families per day.

Citrus Heights has two Dutch Bros. locations, one at 7853 Lichen Drive and one at 7445 Madison Ave. For more information on Dutch Bros’ Dutch Luv fundraising, visit the company’s website here.