It’s one of the hottest March days on record for San Francisco, close to 90 degrees, but 20 or so determined volunteers still congregate outside an Inner Richmond sports bar to walk the streets and pick up trash.
As folks gather around the Clement Street front door of Richmond Republic Draught House — old, young, quiet, loud — Vincent “Vince” Yuen hands out neon yellow reflective vests and trash bags. Everyone attaches the bags around plastic circles that look like hollowed-out Frisbee discs, using binder clips.
“You’re all here because you care about your community, and that matters. We thank you,” Yuen tells the group. “Let’s get out there and clean the streets. There’s a free beer and plate of tacos for you when you get back.”
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If it weren’t for the heat, there might have been more of an audible cheer. But the group, including me, was still committed.
Yuen is the leader of Refuse Refuse, a grassroots volunteer effort that organizes trash pickups around the city. Over the past five years, Yuen has organized nearly 6,000 cleanups, collected nearly 1,300,000 million gallons of trash, which amounts to around 98,000 13-gallon bags, and worked with 20,400 unique volunteers, as of February.
Volunteers prepare to pick up trash, and will later receive a free beer and meal, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Volunteers prepare to pick up trash, and will later receive a free beer and meal, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Reuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Volunteers prepare to pick up trash, and will later receive a free beer and meal, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
After Yuen had organized a trash cleanup for the Friends School, Daniel Lurie reached out to Yuen, just before Lurie began his campaign for mayor in September 2023, and shared information about a new project he was starting with co-founder Manny Yekutiel, called Civic Joy Fund. Yekutiel was already doing his own trash cleanups around the city with free food and drinks afterward, Yuen said. Civic Joy Fund brought Refuse Refuse into the fold with grant money, which allowed the former marketing executive to run Refuse Refuse as a full-time job.
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According to Civic Joy Fund managing director Caleb Hilladakis, they were looking to accomplish a couple of things. One: bring activity back to commercial corridors that were still impacted by the post-pandemic swing of things. And two: figure out how to create more civic engagement in San Francisco.
“What we found about the food at the cleanups is that by giving everyone a reason to stick around, and an incentive to go in the first place, is that you end up creating these incredible relationships and communities out of the cleanups that otherwise wouldn’t have been there,” Hilladakis told SFGATE.
Through the backing of Civic Joy Fund, there are now 17 street cleanup operations that take place almost all over the city, Friday through Sunday. In the Bayview, you can grab a bite at All Good Pizza post cleanup. In Hayes Valley, which Hilladakis noted was one of the more productive areas, the volunteers go to Gambit Lounge for a drink. Other neighborhoods include Ocean Beach, the Castro, Chinatown, the Excelsior, the Fillmore and North Beach.
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Volunteers prepare to pick up trash, and will later receive a free beer and meal, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Dozens of volunteers pick up trash to receive free beer and tacos, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
But Richmond Republic’s involvement predates Civic Joy Fund’s involvement.
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“I knew Vince from the neighborhood because he lives around here, and he would come in for a drink every once in a while,” Richmond Republic owner Dave Heft told SFGATE. “He wanted to do this neighborhood cleanup, and I said, ‘Perfect, I’ll give you these tokens, and your people can get a free beer when they are done.’’’
It wasn’t as consistent as it is now, but even then, Heft saw what it did for the community.
“We probably break even, so it’s not a huge moneymaker for us, but that’s not why we do it,” Heft continued. “You can see the difference when you walk down the street. What Vince is doing, it really works.”
Dozens of volunteers pick up trash to receive free beer and tacos, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Volunteers prepare to pick up trash, and will later receive a free beer and meal, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Dozens of volunteers pick up trash to receive free beer and tacos, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Pocketful of sunshine
After Yuen’s short but sweet speech, each volunteer, including this food reporter, set out on their own journey. Some people went west; some went south. I tagged along with Hilladakis and headed north, up Eighth Avenue, until we hit Lake Street.
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Hilladakis, who does one or two cleanups every weekend, is a veteran. A portable speaker hangs over his shoulder by a strap, and an eclectic array of tunes blast out. “I Want You Back” by the Jackson Five. “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” by Soulja Boy. He even introduces me to Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine,” which was very apropos given the heat wave and good vibes of the day.
As we pass driveway after driveway in the residential area, cigarette butts, stray napkins, and discarded Styrofoam come into focus more and more. Neighbors on their stoop say, “Thank you,” which felt good. Hilladakis tells me that we can’t go back without a completely full trash bag. That would be a “bad look,” he says.
So we head south down Ninth Avenue, toward Geary Boulevard. Napkins turn into candy wrappers, and Styrofoam turns into empty restaurant to-go containers. Cigarette butts still bake on the heated asphalt like dead cockroaches. That’s when we hit a median on Geary.
“Jackpot,” Hilladakis says.
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Civic Joy Fund managing director Caleb Hilladakis picks up trash, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Dozens of volunteers pick up trash to receive free beer and tacos, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Here, we are able to stuff our bags full of trash that has been blown onto the planted, but neglected, median that divides east and west traffic. We weren’t going back empty-handed, as they say.
On the southwest corner of Eighth and Clement, everyone piles their bags on top of each other, creating a sort of makeshift pyramid. I go to take off my yellow vest, which thankfully hadn’t melted on to me, but Yuen tells me to keep it on.
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“You won’t get your free beer or tacos if you hand it back to me,” he says with a laugh.
Best Friday of the year
Inside the swampy bar and after sweating for an hour, a cold one never sounded better. All of the volunteers walk up to the second floor, beers in hand, where we can overlook the rest of the bar.
Brett Abel and his mom, Ellen, were part of the crew that day. They spent most of their time cleaning up the refuse in front of the San Francisco Public Library’s Richmond branch on Ninth Avenue. They started doing these cleanups in the Mission so they could clean up outside their local library, the Mission branch. But they have now volunteered in other neighborhoods simply because they love libraries — and want to keep their areas clean and welcoming.
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“We want other people to enjoy libraries too, so we make sure it’s clean,” Brett Abel told SFGATE. “We definitely feel like we’re making a difference. It’s our civic duty.”
Dozens of volunteers receive free beer and tacos after an afternoon of picking up trash, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Dozens of volunteers receive free beer and tacos after an afternoon of picking up trash, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
Volunteers cheer and receive free beer and tacos after an afternoon of picking up trash, organized by Civic Joy Fund and Refuse Refuse, in the Richmond District of San Francisco, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Camille Cohen/For SFGATE
After about 15 minutes of mingling, a server starts to prep the upstairs for the taco bar. Like flies to a bright light, everyone moves instinctively toward the back table as their conversations continue. Each person gets a plate with a basic salad of romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, red onions and vinaigrette, as well as piping hot french fries and one chicken taco. The chatter subdues almost instantly as we consume our meals. Shortly after, we part ways.
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Yuen stays a bit longer, still packing up his foldable table and talking to passersby who ask a question or two.
“Even though there are so many different pieces that come together to make the cleanups great between the City Joy Fund and the small businesses and each and every one of the volunteers, I think the cleanup captains, like Vince, are the puzzle piece to all of this that make me so excited about San Francisco and what all this volunteers and civic engagement can accomplish,” he said the following week over the phone.
As I headed home, I felt encouraged and hopeful. It was truly one of the best Fridays I’ve had this year. I can’t remember the last time I did any community service, which I found appalling. Taking an hour out of my day, even if it was egregiously hot, was not hard. And picking up trash was even easier. The free beer and taco bar at the end of the day was a nice touch, for sure. But the biggest reward was the feeling of helping out my city, which we could all do a little more of.
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Interested volunteers can sign up at CleanUpTheCity.org.