Vallejo artist collective running food and clothes drive

VALLEJO — A Vallejo artist collective is running a food and clothes drive to give them to people currently living outside. 

The group has bins to accept food, clothes and cash donations at Provisions in downtown Vallejo and at BurgerIM in American Canyon. The bins will be there until Thursday and the goods will be distributed on Sunday. 

“Our plan is to collect jackets/blankets, canned/non perishable food, new socks/gloves, first aid/portable chargers,” said organizer Vivian Jalapit with the artist collective Homebodies.

The goods will then be handed out at shelters and in the streets. Cash donations will be used to cook a warm meal to feed those who are hungry.

“We wanted to do our due diligence of at least helping with keeping the unhoused population warm, and feeling some kind of holiday spirit by providing necessities for the winter,” Jalapit said.

“The homeless population in Vallejo and the Bay Area in general grows every year, and these winter months are extremely hard for the unhoused.” 

The Homebodies group was founded earlier this year with the aim to create community for artists. They hold events that bring together musicians, performers, visual artists and creatives of all types with the aim of fostering Vallejo talent.

“Our main goal was to create and provide as a community, in both events and content,” said Jalapit, a tattoo artist and illustrator. “This includes events/shows to showcase the artists, workshops that can be resources for artists, and content that can also be used as resources.” 

So far this year they’ve organized parties, pop-up clothing sales, backyard concerts and flash tattoo stands, including a Thanksgiving drag party in collaboration with the Vallejo Free Music Collective.

Working with other artists reduces the imposter feeling that plagues many artists, said Jalapit. “It’s nice to be around people who know the creative process and can sympathize with me,” she said.

David Doria leads the group and calls himself “a renaissance artist,” interested in many forms of expression. Above all, his talent may lie in bringing people together.

“We don't want to be gatekeepers. We want to be able to open up the gates, build bridges and invite as many people who need that kind of avenue,” Doria said. 

With a lot of the creative scenes in the Bay Area concentrated in places like San Francisco or Oakland, living in Vallejo can feel isolating when you are always “two bridges away” from everything, said Doria.

“When I was growing up in Vallejo, I understood that we never had any resources like that,” he said, referring to having a support group as an artist. 

“I don't want this place to continue to be like that when I know for a fact that there’s a bunch of talented individuals here.”

Doing a food drive is just another way for the collective to get together and give back to their community, Doria said. 

Anybody interested in their events or in participating can reach out to Homebodies through their Instagram account or email them at homebodiesnet@gmail.com.