Alameda County Community Food Bank

Food distribution - as Alameda County's central clearinghouse for donated, surplus, and purchased Food for nonprofit agencies, the Food Bank distributed 55 million pounds of Food in the 2023 fiscal year (53 million pounds of Food in the 2022 fiscal year). The Food was procured from purchased Food, donations, the government, and our Food recovery program. The Food Bank primarily distributes this Food through a network of more than 300 strategically located member agencies. The Food distribution program also includes programs such as emergency Food drive thru distributions due to the economic crisis related to the pandemic and college and university programs. Volunteer program - volunteers play an evolving role in work from packaging of fresh produce, bagging children's Food bags, and sorting donated Food to helping in a variety of skills- and professional-based ways including consulting on risk-assessments. Volunteers are also utilized for the helpline, office assistance, advocacy, and events. During the years ended june 30, 2023 and 2022, volunteer hours were equivalent to 35 and 41 full-time employees each year, respectively. Volunteer hours were 68,000 and 80,000 for the years ended june 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Agency services - the Food Bank supports its member agencies in managing government Food programs, securing government funding, and adhering to related contracts. The Food Bank assists member agencies in Food safety, equipment and vehicle procurement, and other operational and capacity building functions.nutrition programs - the Food Bank supports its member agencies and clients through nutrition education services, which are designed to help member agencies and clients utilize the wide variety of products, including farm fresh fruits and vegetables, that may be new to clients. Services include educational classes, nutrition materials, recipes, cooking classes, and taste testing demos to encourage and support healthful eating. Nutrition education services also help clients maximize their other Food resources to bring healthy choices to their families.

Outreach - multilingual outreach includes the Food helpline, foodnow.net, comidaahora.net, and calfresh outreach. Since 1994, callers to the helpline have been able to receive a same-day bag of Food, or hot meal at a location in or near their neighborhood. The Food Bank's calfresh (formerly known as Food stamps and known nationwide as "snap") outreach program staff guides eligible Community members through the application process working through the Alameda County social services agency. The calfresh outreach program decreased applications in 2023. Applications submitted equaled approximately 4,300 during the year ended june 30, 2023 (approximately 7,900 in 2022.)

Other - advocacy, research, Community engagement- the Food Bank's hunger education and advocacy efforts continue to provide a voice for tens of thousands of Alameda County residents who face Food insecurity. The Food Bank's staff meets with legislators, grassroots anti-hunger advocates, and other advocacy partners regularly. The program promotes policies to benefit low-income residents such as extending calfresh benefits to people living on supplemental security income, a program that benefits low income seniors and individuals with disabilities. Research activities include measuring Food insecurity and mapping Food insecurity with services offered to help strategically improve services where they are needed most.