IRISH EATERY LENDS HAND TO FOOD BANK; CAN DRIVE, DINNERS TO BENEFIT THE CHARITY.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

The bounty of holiday donations to the Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank is slowly giving way to the lean times of late winter.

Even basics are in short supply.

But Irish eyes will be smiling on the food bank this St. Patrick's Day, thanks to local restaurateur Bud Sweeney, who is organizing twin charity dinners and a canned food drive to benefit the food bank, which helped 39,700 people last year.

``I just love doing it. Being active in the community is really necessary,'' said Sweeney, owner of Sweeney's at Macy's in the Oaks Mall and co-owner of Sweeney's Cafe in Camarillo. ``You've got to give something back once in a while.''

The efforts come as a new study shows 49 percent of Ventura County's food-assistance agencies ran short of food and had to resort to rationing last year.

So far, Sweeney's drive has raised nearly 2,000 cans of food for the needy.

Pauline Saterbo, administrator of the Thousand Oaks-based food bank, was thrilled when Sweeney approached her with his plan. A recent food drive fell short of expectations, she said. And although Sweeney's events aren't expected to bring in the proverbial pot o' gold, they have at least restored Saterbo's faith in the luck of the Irish.

``This is a bonus for us,'' said Saterbo. ``This came out of the blue. So everything we get from this is manna from heaven.''

Basic food items like cooking oil, cereal and peanut butter are in short supply at the food bank, as are personal care items, including shampoo and deodorant.

``Can you imagine reaching for toilet tissue and not having any?'' said Saterbo.

When a local hamburger chain recently donated 100 extra hamburgers to the food bank, the eyes of youngsters and parents alike lit up in anticipation.

``It's exciting to see people get excited about things you and I take for granted,'' she said.

Although the food bank received the most holiday donations Saterbo has seen in her 15 years with the center, donations typically run thin in spring and summer. And with many local farms beleaguered by the season's storms, farm workers unable to find steady work are increasingly turning to the food bank, according to Saterbo.

FOOD Share, an organization that supplies food to agencies that serve the needy, recently reported that it would need to nearly double the more than 6 million pounds of food it takes in every year to eliminate food rationing by agencies in Ventura County.

``It takes each and every one of us to make a difference,'' Saterbo said. ``We just kind of forget about (the hungry) after the holidays. But their needs are just as great after the holidays.''

On Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day, both of Sweeney's restaurants will serve corned beef and cabbage dinners, with profits going to the food bank. With reservations for three of the four seatings sold out, Sweeney said he figures the event will draw 400 diners.

For the past month, Sweeney's restaurants have collected canned food from customers who, for each can they bring in, receive a coupon for a chance to win a trip for two to Ireland. The trips were donated by Town & Country Travel, Brendan's Travel and an area radio station.

Sweeney, who has worked in the hospitality business for 30 years, said that altruism was not his sole motivation in organizing the events.

``From my standpoint, at least, it helped get people into the restaurants and helped a charity at the same time,'' he said. ``And I am quite Irish.''

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PHOTO Restaurant owner Bud Sweeney shows just some of the donated foodstuffs he's collected as part of a St. Patrick's Day drive to benefit the Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News