Dr. Harold C. Anderson, founder of Our Daily Bread, died Oct 25, 2000 in the Veterans' Hospital in Palo Alto after suffering from bone cancer. He was 81.
Harold was a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sunnyvale where a Vigil and Memorial service was held for friends to gather and remember him for his philantrophy and his pioneering of the ODB Program.
Remembered for generosity
In 1981 Harold instigated a discussion series at St. Thomas Church that eventually led to the start of ODB. He cooked the first meal for the hungry, a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving 1982. He recruited the original volunteers, wrote the by-laws and organized the board of directors. He was continually involved with the program and was persuaded to return to the board as president in 1995 and '96.
Harold will be most remembered for his generosity and friendship. He gave many monetary gifts to St. Thomas, always anonymously. He made and kept many friends, some of whom he helped with their educations. He considered these friends and their families as his family. A scholarship in religious studies bears his name at the University of Minnesota.
From a small Midwest town
Harold was born 2 September 1919 in Kasson, Minnesota. Some of his earliest recollections were of cold winters and of his mother securing him in bed with horse-blanket pins so that he wouldn't toss off the blankets. He took a medical degree at Minnesota and was a resident at Yale. He continued post-graduate studies at Rockefeller Institute in New York, and later at Cambridge University as a Fulbright scholar. He worked with the Food and Drug Administration in Washington. In 1972 he became medical director at Syntex Corporation in Palo Alto and made his home in Sunnyvale.
"I would position myself to the left of center politically, economically and theologically," Harold wrote. "My theological philosophy is best expressed in the twenty-fifth chapter of the gospel according to St. Matthew." Harold liked to quote a passage from Hebrews - "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels unaware."
ODB idea developed slowly
Harold sometimes said that the idea for the ODB program developed slowly. It started when as senior warden (lay leader) he wrote a Christmas letter about his three kittens that urged the parish to respond to the needs of the poor. Next Harold and the Rev. Bill Cowans, then rector of St. Thomas, organized a discussion series based on the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. Representatives from local service agencies were invited to talk about the needs of the hungry and homeless in Sunnyvale. "This night was for many of us," Harold wrote, "a real eye opener."
Working with Father Cowans and parish secretary Teresa Morse, Harold laid plans for starting ODB late in 1982. From the beginning the program sought volunteers from other churches. ODB would put St. Thomas church, Harold argued, "in the forefront of an ecumenical project." Since that time volunteers have come from more than twenty local churches as well as from service clubs and other organizations. About 100 volunteers are at work today.
Temporary solution
"When Our Daily Bread was started," Harold wrote, "it was not looked upon as anything except a temporary solution to what was perceived as a relatively small and local hunger problem. How wrong and naïve we were!" Since March 1983, ODB has served more than 600,000 meals to the hungry and poor. Today the program continues to serve hot, nutritious meals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. ODB feeds about 700 people a week.
Harold attended Presbyterian and Congregational churches before becoming an Episcopalian. He was a member of St. Thomas Church for nearly thirty years. He served the parish as an unpaid staff member for several years and as treasurer. He was chairman of Santa Maria Urban Mission, an outreach ministry of the Episcopal Church in San Jose. He also served on the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese, which advises the bishop.
Awarded The Bishop's Cross
"Harold C. Anderson stands tall in our diocesan mission and mission under-taking. We are proud to recognize a life of service."
from an award presented by the
Rt. Rev. Richard Shimpfky in January 1999
Founders
At the beginning there was one person who was something more than a founder, actually the instigator and a continual leader. . . ODB has served about 500,000 hot meals, not counting seconds, and without Harold's instigation and leadership it would not have served even one. Today as we celebrate his 80 years, we can also celebrate the service of ODB and the spirit of a loving God who gave us our friend Harold. That spirit dwells in founders and followers, those who serve and those who are fed, and all who are nourished by this ministry.