Meet “Burrito Dave,” the Retired Teacher Feeding SF’s Homeless, One Burrito at a Time

Dave, a retired educator turned volunteer cook, has spent the last few years helping homeless outreach organizer and former unhoused person Shelby Wildeman distribute food and essentials to unhoused residents of San Francisco. Known affectionately as “Burrito Dave,” he shares how he got involved in grassroots outreach, what keeps him going, and why a warm breakfast burrito can mean so much to those living on the streets of San Francisco.

Kellie Hanna: Can you tell me a little bit about your background?

Burrito Dave: I spent most of my career in education. I was a schoolteacher for many years at the Beechwood School in Menlo Park, teaching middle school, mostly science. So I did that for 13 years, and then I was the school principal for 13 years. I did that until 2020.

I have a family. My two daughters are 31 and 26. They live here in San Francisco. So being a dad was a big part of my life. I’ve been married for 36 years now.

I love to recreate, too. I’m a huge golfer. And the extended family has become a big part of our lives here because our parents are getting older. Those are the things that are important to me. Throughout my career and upbringing, I’ve always been very motivated to serve others, mostly because of the way I was raised; my mother was very service-oriented.

Kellie Hanna: What brought you to San Francisco?

Burrito Dave: We owned a home in Mountain View. We remodeled it, and it was a very valuable property. We thought it would be a nice way to live comfortably as we started to get older and wanted to slow down. That’s what allowed me to retire.

My wife’s friend had a place in Bernal Heights, and we stayed there for about three months. I just fell back in love with San Francisco. We had lived there at the beginning of our marriage and always talked about going back.

As that [temporary stay] was ending, we found a flat in Bernal and snatched it up. We’ve been there for about a year and a half now.

Kellie Hanna: How did you meet Shelby and get involved in his outreach efforts?

Burrito Dave: We met at the Lucky Horseshoe, the neighborhood bar. I sat next to him one night, and we had this great conversation about movies. And then, we just kind of hit it off.

Then I got this sense that there was this other thing that he was doing, and he kind of casually told me that he was doing homeless outreach.

I told him, “I love to cook. And if you ever want me to cook for anything you’re doing, just let me know.” And he took me up on it.

Kellie Hanna: What did that turn into? What do you cook?

Burrito Dave: I worked in restaurants. After I retired, I was a personal chef for about a year. It’s just one of my favorite things to do.

I was trying to think of something that I could produce on a scale that would be delicious and easy to transport, and stay hot. I tried the breakfast burrito thing and really kind of perfected it.

Kellie Hanna: What’s in your burritos?

Burrito Dave: It’s only three ingredients: egg, cheese, and Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage. We made a couple vegetarian, but rarely found anybody interested in that.”

Kellie Hanna: How do you prep that many burritos at once?

Burrito Dave: In my kitchen, I have room to lay out like 50. First I cheese them all, cook off all the sausage, then do the egg last, and then get to rolling.

You get good at that, too—like the real fold where it stays together. Then I get them all wrapped in tinfoil and in the oven for about 30 minutes, so they’re heated all the way through, but not dried out, and then I put them in the hot bag and into the car and then go get Shelby.

That hot bag could carry about 200 burritos if you wanted, but I’ve never done more than 50 at a time.

Kellie Hanna: Where do you usually distribute them?

Burrito Dave: Our original spot was across the street from the Ferry Building, right on the Embarcadero. We did that for a year. We were out, I’d say, three times a month. But then the city cleared that whole area out. Who knows? Maybe we’ll go back and we’ll see that it’s re-established or something, or maybe we’ll find those people somewhere else.

Now we go to 16th and Potrero. It’s a lot rougher there. It’s intense; it’s very intense.

Kellie Hanna: Do you ever feel scared out there?

Burrito Dave: No. Not scared, but definitely alert. You have to be aware of your surroundings. There’s a lot going on. But Shelby knows everyone. He has such a great way with people, and when I’m out there with him, I feel safe. It feels like we’re just stepping into somebody else’s neighborhood. And we were there to bring something good.

Kellie Hanna: Have you tried serving other meals too?

Burrito Dave: We do other things. I have gotten insulated cups so we could hand out soup. We’ve done chili, beans and franks. But we noticed when we did that, people would ask, “What about the breakfast burritos?” The breakfast burritos were a hit. After several times, people knew who I was, and they knew what I had, and it turned out to be the perfect thing. They’re really good sustenance and they’re delicious. I mean, it’s so simple, but it’s just so good, you know? They’re very filling.

Just because someone’s homeless doesn’t mean they don’t care about taste or comfort. The “you’ll take whatever I give you” mindset bums me out. That’s why I take the time when I make burritos for the homeless. When I unzip the bag and hand a burrito to someone, I always say, “It’s still warm.” That matters. It makes a difference.

Kellie Hanna: Who gave you the nickname “Burrito Dave?”

Burrito Dave: Shelby named me Burrito Dave. He has a nickname for all the people he used to live with. I always asked, “Where did they get that nickname?” And he’d always say, “Well, that’s just what I call them.” It’s kind of fun. A lot of people in the bar call me Burrito Dave now.

Kellie Hanna: Do you remember your first time handing someone a burrito?

Burrito Dave: Well, I remember the first time that we went. I don’t remember the first actual interaction, but I remember the whole experience being much different than what I expected.

Kellie Hanna: Which was?

Burrito Dave: It was much more of a feeling of visiting someone else’s community that was established and deserved to be respected, as opposed to “Let’s get in, get out, do the work, and try to keep ourselves safe.” It was more, “Oh, we’re moving slowly. Oh, Shelby knows this guy. He’s talking to this guy. They’re joking around. They’re laughing. They’re telling old stories.”

And so, that was unexpected—and it really led to me wanting to do it more. I’m a very social person.
There’s one guy we would see at the Embarcadero. We’d always talk about the Giants. He always knew exactly what was going on with the Giants. He’s got his radio and he listens to the games. That’s my Giants guy.

Little connections like that were unexpected. I didn’t anticipate that it would feed my soul that way, you know? The part I really enjoy is seeing familiar faces and having conversations.

Kellie Hanna: Do you cover all the costs for the burritos yourself?

Burrito Dave: Yes. It’s really amazing—the other thing that’s so great about burritos is you can make a lot of them. My donation every time is under $200.

Kellie Hanna: I imagine it’s got to be a really good feeling to know you’re making someone’s day with a burrito.

Burrito Dave: There’s a sense of satisfaction that you’re really kind of right where the rubber meets the road—actually taking the food and putting it in the person’s hand, and very often watching them eat it. That has always been one of my favorite things: you make food for people and they’re like, “Oh, my God, this is so good.” We did get that a lot, which feels great.

Even some of the most far-gone people—I remember the feeling of walking up to groups of people and thinking, “I don’t even think they want to eat; they just want to get high.”

But that wasn’t the case. It was amazing: they’d snap out of it and go, “Oh, thank you, this is great, what you guys are doing.” So many people look at those people and think, “They’re gone, totally gone.” When the basic need of food is met, humanity re-emerges, you know?

So it’s a mix of hopefulness and hopelessness at the same time. You’re just winging it out there. So many people, myself included at times, just don’t want to deal. We think, “They’re over there.” You have to see stuff that a lot of people go out of their way not to see. It’s about getting in touch with people’s humanity—who they are. For many, it’s too much; it’s heart-wrenching.

Kellie Hanna: But then there are people like you and Shelby doing what you can to help.

Burrito Dave: Well, yeah. You still have to see those people as people—with value. It’d be easy to burn out. You go down, and someone’s not there anymore. So many tragedies. “Oh, he OD’d. He’s dead.” That kind of thing hits hard.

People ask if San Francisco is dangerous. What’s dangerous is being homeless and an addict. Your life’s at risk. You’re not just on the margins—you’re outside, it’s cold, untreated depression, anxiety… It really shows how much we take for granted. It’s easy to complain about healthcare, but if you’ve got something, you’re doing better than they are. They have nothing.

You see what’s happening to their bodies. If that were you or someone you loved, you’d say, “We’ve got to take care of that leg, your teeth,” whatever it is.

Kellie Hanna: What keeps you going with this work?

Burrito Dave: I think it was a progression through my life—dealing with really difficult situations. Learning learning to navigate those emotions—dealing with human behavior and not being able to say, “This is too hard”—that shaped me. I had to do it.

Compartmentalizing is a good word. I think I’m pretty good at it. And I’ve got other things I need or want to do, so this is something I do occasionally. Having balance in my life helps stave off burnout and compassion fatigue.

But there’s also a payoff that lessens the emotional weight: that feeling of, “What we did was good.”

Kellie: What do you say to people who complain about the homeless in San Francisco?

Burrito Dave: It’s a lot of complaining. And I wonder, what is this person actually doing? I don’t proselytize about it, but I think, “No—I’m doing something. I see the problem, and I do a little something about it.”

This is part of being a human being. And it’s part of being a citizen of San Francisco. This is happening here. In an ideal world, we’d be doing better. But this is how we’re doing right now. Sitting around and waiting for it to get better—or only trying to solve it politically—isn’t enough. This is part of city life.

So my approach is: I live here. These people live here too. Let’s work with them rather than trying to get rid of them.”

Kellie Hanna: What advice would you give someone who wants to help but doesn’t know how?

Burrito Dave: Well, I think the first thing is just keeping it at the front of your mind—knowing there are simple things you can do to make a difference. It’s not about solving the whole problem right away—that’s a much bigger effort, and you can get involved in that too—but there are basic needs you can address right now.

For example, now that this is part of my consciousness, I don’t throw things away if they still have value. Yesterday, I thought, “I’m never going to wear these shoes again,” so now they’re in my car—just in case I see someone who might need them.

Just yesterday, I saw a guy whose shoes were falling apart. The soles weren’t even attached, so he tied plastic garbage bags around them to hold them together. That kind of thing stays with you.

It’s hard. It’s hard to walk up to someone who looks really down and out, maybe mentally ill, physically suffering, or even smells bad, and say, “It looks like you might need this—would you like me to bring it to you?” But that’s where it starts.