San Rafael caterer Dee Wagner founded NoHungerHere in April 2020, after the pandemic closed the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin's dining room on B Street. Volunteers with the nonprofit have since prepared more than 5,500 meals for unhoused residents.

Wagner, who runs Roux Catering and Dee Wagner Events from 1106 Mission Ave., has sourced produce from local growers for more than 30 years. She brings that same philosophy to the nonprofit's kitchen, the Pacific Sun reported Tuesday, Sept. 8.

"I approach the food we create for unhoused individuals exactly the same way I approach any other client: with care and intention," Wagner told the Pacific Sun.

That care starts at the farm.

Wagner's catering menus draw from Star Route Farms in Bolinas, the oldest continuously certified organic row crop farm in California, and from vendors at the Marin Farmers Market. She also sources from Sanzuma, a San Rafael nonprofit founded in 2012 by Lori Davis that manages school farms for the San Rafael City School District. Sanzuma's San Pedro School farm has produced over 4,000 pounds of produce for the district since fall 2017, according to the organization's website.

Seasonal sourcing means adapting on the fly. When persistent fog delayed cherry tomatoes from Triple T Farms by six weeks, Wagner temporarily sourced elsewhere, then switched back once the farm's Toybox tomatoes arrived. Before one Earth Day event, an abrupt temperature swing caused cilantro plants to bolt, producing flowers and seed pods. Wagner turned the bolted cilantro into pesto and folded the cut plants into the buffet's floral arrangements. She described the improvised dish as "remarkable," with "a sweet undertone you don't get from the leaf alone."

NoHungerHere remains part of Wagner's business model. Wedding and corporate clients can connect their events to the nonprofit's community mission, according to the Pacific Sun profile. The nonprofit is listed at nohungerhere.life.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin's free dining room at 820 B St. is open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day of the year, according to the organization. The Marin Farmers Market runs year-round on Thursdays and Sundays at the San Rafael Civic Center, and a seasonal downtown market operates one Friday per month through Sept. 11 on Fourth Street between A and Lootens.