The force has always been strong with this one.
Because you don’t get a nickname like “Jedi” by accident. It must be earned. In his 15-plus years as a driver with Project Open Hand, Alfred “Jedi” Kessel has delivered well over 100,000 meals with love to critically ill neighbors and seniors in San Francisco – including his mother, Consuilo Navarro.
“She had the whole package – diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s...we delivered medically tailored, diabetic meals to my mom every week. She loved it, too," says Jedi, with a wide, prideful smile that quickly dissipates into the space between thoughts.
As every true Jedi learns, the force is a balance of both darkness and light. And it has been a dark time for Jedi. While still mourning the passing of his mother, Jedi and his family faced another tragedy when his grandson, Kooder, whom Jedi raised and who sometimes volunteered at Project Open Hand, was gunned down in an act of sense - less violence earlier this year in the Sunset.
“I still blame myself,” says Jedi, who remembers praying that same morning for his nephew at the Catholic Church next door to a Project Open Hand Community Nutrition Program site where he had just delivered warm, nutritious meals to seniors and adults with disabilities on Fifth Avenue. “I should have prayed harder.”
Continuing the Project Open Hand mission of delivering meals with love to the critically ill is what keeps Jedi and his delivery team grounded, says Distribution Manager Scott Yowell. “When Jedi shows up, the energy shifts. And the fun begins,” says Scott. “Taking care of his mother for as long as he did is why Jedi excels at his job. He sees his mother in so many of our clients. This job saves him in that it lets him keep doing his life’s work – to help others.”
How did you earn the name Jedi?
In 1977, when Star Wars came out, I was a 10th grader at McAteer. I saw lines spinning around the Coronet. When I heard Han Solo say my last name (“the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs...”) I turned to my friend and said, “Did you hear that?” Right then I knew I was born to be a Star Wars fan. Back then you could hide in the theater’s bathroom and see it over and over again.
What is your biggest extravagance?
Shopping for Star Wars toys. And bowling. I just got the new Hammer Black Widow Legend ball. Expensive but worth it. The way the back ends the pocket. It just explodes. I’m on the POH bowling team. My best score is a 290, but I predict this is the year for a perfect game.
What is the trait in yourself that you most deplore?
I don’t like the way I wear my emotions on my sleeves.
What is your greatest fear?
Already happened. Losing two people who I love.
What is your greatest regret?
Not going to college. If I could re-do my life, I’d want to be a fighter pilot. But you’ve got to be good at math, and I wasn’t. If I could restart, I’d work on my math!
What is your favorite Project Open Hand meal?
Back in the day, they used to make some screamin’ beef stroganoff. With real sour cream!
What is your motto?
Get busy living. Or get busy dying. I think that’s from the movie, Shawshank Redemption.
As leader in the national Food Is Medicine movement, Project Open Hand provides a complete and appropriate, evidence-based, medical nutrition intervention to support and improve the health of the critically and chronically ill. Every day, Project Open Hand provides 2,5000 nutritious meals and provides 200 bags of healthy groceries to help our clients in San Francisco and Oakland as they battle HIV/AIDs, breast cancer, diabetes and other critical illnesses.