Etto Pasta at Echo
As a food producer we take our responsibility to feeding people seriously. We believe that people should not go hungry and pasta offers a simple and affordable way to help feed folks with food insecurity in our community. Our "pasta for the people" program has provided over 33,000 meals of our pasta to folks in our community through donations to various local organizations, but we are always looking to do more. A couple folks expressed concern that with our expansion into Whole Foods and Amazon etc. that we would lose our local charm. I low-key* see it as a way to allow us to invest more into our community as we grow.
Recently our friend, local catering chef Anthony Allesmith was hired to lead the kitchen at Echo our local homeless organization. We've participated with Echo on various fronts over the years, but Anthony reached out and gave us the opportunity to step things up a bit. He will also perform training in their new kitchen that was built by Must Charities to get folks into the workforce.
Starting this week we will begin by donating our fresh pasta for a weekly Etto lunch at Echo and also up our efforts in donating to other local volunteers who cook dinner for residents. We see such value in this partnership because a good meal not only provides simple subsistence, but also can provide a sense of comfort and joy. Great food brings folks together and great pasta can be a cornerstone to good health and also hopefully provide a sense of well being.
The work that Echo does in our community is truly astounding as these numbers attest:
With 130 beds across two campuses, they serve an average of 40 children each night.
The impact:
60% of participants in their 90-day program successfully find housing.
90% of those individuals maintain stable housing long-term.
85% of those they serve are members of our own community.
And in 2025 alone, we’ve already helped 261 individuals and families secure safe, stable housing.
These remarkable numbers are well above (by like 400%) state averages and point to their amazing efforts and also the efforts of our community members who contribute.
* I'm starting to use "low-key" to anger my teen daughters. They say I don't use it right.
There are many opportunities to help Echo continue their momentum like at the fundraiser featured here and also by volunteering some time.
If you'd like information about how you can help become a meal provider call Mason in Atascadero at 805.538.9690 or in Paso call Taylor at 805.538.3947 - we can provide the pasta. Echo is also looking for overnight chaperone volunteers if that's more your speed. We will be hosting Echo at Etto in September so look for more details to come so you can learn more about their amazing efforts and programs.
It's easy to complain about the things we see around us as problems, but all of us have the power to make change and turn them into solutions. Thanks for all your support of Etto so we can turn this into support for this great community we live in.
