Alice Robinson was always the quiet one, but she could always cook up a storm.
Among Alice’s earliest memories are of her mother serving up large platters of steaming food for friends, family and any others who came by the family’s home in rural Alabama. Alice says although her father, a farmer, rarely made any money in a given year, there was always food – and plenty of it – for all who came to Mama’s door.
She says she’s transported back to her hardscrabble youth when dishing out food to the homeless, poor or hungry at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, something she has done once a month for more than 15 years. That feeling of community that her mother had created was something she had always wanted to create in Long Beach; something that was as much about fellowship as food.
And helping her to create it throughout the years has been her husband, Benny Robinson, 87. Although Benny was already long-retired and the two were living off Social Security benefits when Alice revealed her plan to feed others, Benny didn’t hesitate with his support.
“She made up her mind she wanted to do and I was right with her,” he said.
Alice and Benny Robinson met in their native Alabama and married before moving to Long Beach. They made their home in the Sixth District and have been there ever since, first living on Lemon Ave., before moving to their current home on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. You can see them on the stoop of their home, underneath an Alabama cotton plant grown from seeds given to Alice, watching the world go by; in many ways, they are in their way the heart of the Central Area.
When Alice first pitched the idea of feeding others more than 15 years ago to her former best friend and kitchen companion, the loquacious Stella Davis and Davis’ brother, it didn’t take long to sell the idea to city officials at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
“I was bashful, so I let Stella do the talking,” Alice said of Davis, who passed away in 2015.
For many years, Alice also let Stella take the credit for the meals. The two were often called by one name: Stella-and-Alice, or Alice-and-Stella. While Davis became the face of the feedings, Alice was more than happy to be in the background, providing the occasional, “Mmm, hmm,” to Davis’s chatter.
The two became involved in a number of community programs, both enrolled in the city’s Community Leadership Program, which taught them how to work the halls of government. While Davis would proudly frame and place her various commendations on the walls of her home, Alice put hers in storage. Asked about a gold medallion award she received for community service from former President Barack Obama, Alice merely says its packed away “somewhere.”
Eventually, the inseparable duo went in different directions, in part due to disagreements about the feeding and in part because Alice felt it was time to emerge from Davis’s shadow. For a while, both staged separate feedings at the park, Robinson moving hers from the middle of the month to the first Wednesday. Davis suffered several injuries and illness before she died at the age of 77.
The couple occasionally have to dip into their pockets to pay for food if fundraising falls short and Benny says the monthly event sometimes takes a toll on both he and his wife, but he says she remains steadfast about continuing. The Friends of Alice Robinson, a group of about six steady volunteers including Robinson’s two daughters was formed. Several members have been part of the feedings since the beginning.
The feeding is only one of Alice’s community activities. She is also part of the Central Neighborhood Advisory Committee. She volunteers helping organize Christmas activities for children as well as Black History Month. She also spearheaded a project to plant roses at Rosa Parks Park.
But it is the food that is at the heart of her service. On any given month, 50 to 100 locals line up for hot servings of comfort food: spaghetti, chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, green beans, rice, salad and dinner rolls are staples. Turkey and fixings are served during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.
According to the group’s records, more than 13,000 meals have been served. Over the years, Robinson said the number of people living homeless or who are struggling at the park have risen and fallen, but the meal always draw a healthy gathering.
And Alice Robinson says she will continue to be there also, “as long as my health allows me.”