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The second annual Courageous Cancer Fun Run organized by Tri-Valley nonprofit Culinary Angels is set to take place throughout the week ahead starting this Saturday.
Funds raised from the event will go toward the group’s goal of providing food resources to individuals grappling with cancer and their families. Held asynchronously, participants will be able to run wherever and whenever they would like to during the event.
Lisa McNaney, Culinary Angels’ founder and executive director, spoke to DanvilleSanRamon about the organization’s mission and upcoming fundraising event.
“We are a nonprofit organization that provides mostly organic, nutrient rich meals to people going through a cancer challenge, as well as to their caregivers. We deliver our meals free of charge throughout Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon and in Danville,” she said.
The organization operates predominantly via volunteers with over 160 currently active participants. “It’s amazing that so many wonderful people continue to want to align with us every week,” McNaney said.
She explained the Courageous Cancer Fun Run event was created in 2022 by Dublin High School student Natasha Bercy in honor of her father, Yannick Bercy, who once received meals from Culinary Angels during his cancer treatment before his death.
“(Natasha’s) father was a cancer patient and so they aligned with our program, we would often bring them meals,” McNaney said. “Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 42 and she wanted to continue to honor him. They were both runners, they often ran together all over the Tri-Valley, and so we came up with this idea.”
“It started as this really a personal endeavor that she wanted to have symbolized and kind of just continue to represent her relationship with her dad and the strength that he passed on to her,” McNaney added. “We’re continuing this annual event to further honor everybody else who’s experiencing a cancer challenge.”
“(The run) is fun, it’s easy and it’s a really wonderful way to provide funds that will go directly into our program to continue to be able to provide meals to people who really need it the most,” she said. “It’s a feel-good thing, giving back and making a difference in the community locally. It’s also a way for people who are already active and they want to challenge themselves.”
Originally founded in 2016, Culinary Angels has served over 10,000 meals approximately to residents in need over the years.
Most of the produce used by the organization is thanks to partnerships with local farms and food markets in the area. They try to keep things as close and fresh as possible, according to McNaney.
In the future, McNaney hopes to expand the outreach of Culinary Angels to reach as many people as possible. The group hopes to increase the number of recipients served in 2023 by 40%.
“Our goals are to really feed more people more often. There are over 2,000 people in the Tri-Valley that are unfortunately diagnosed with cancer annually,” McNaney added. “We would really like to increase our impact and provide not only the meals but the nutritional education components that would allow people to learn about where they can source healthy, local organic ingredients and also learn how to cook with them so they can sustain and maintain their wellness.”
To join the run, individuals can sign up via culinaryangels.racery.com and track their mileage over the course of the week, April 22-28.
The program has challenged participants to achieve up to 20 miles during the running event, however there is no required distance to join or donate.
Visit the Culinary Angels webpage culinaryangels.org for more information.
