Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley (also known as "Second Harvest") is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1974 and incorporated in 1979. Second Harvest is committed to doing whatever it takes to end hunger in our community. That means distributing nutritious food to nearly every neighborhood in Silicon Valley, leveraging every available food resource, and collaborating with organizations and people who share our belief that hunger is unacceptable. Nutritious food is the foundation for a healthy, productive life. (continued on schedule o)in fiscal 2023, Second Harvest continued to face the economic hangover of the covid-19 pandemic. In addition, Second Harvest's clients faced additional hardship as result of reduced government subsidies, and an economy facing additional headwinds from inflation and increased unemployment. Today, more than three years since the pandemic began, Second Harvest is serving approximately 500,000 people on average every month across santa clara and san mateo counties matching the number of people served during the heart of the pandemic. Income inequality and the high cost of housing - compounded by the continuing impact of covid-19 - have created an increased, long-term need for nutritious food, accessible to anyone. Even before the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, 1 in 4 people in Silicon Valley were at risk of food insecurity because they struggled to afford basic expenses. Second Harvest does not expect the number of people accessing our services to ever return to pre-pandemic levels. Access to nutritious food is critical for so many people who are struggling to get by in Silicon Valley: parents juggling multiple jobs, college students who need to focus on their studies, homebound seniors and more. As the challenging economic conditions continue, Second Harvest anticipates this level of food insecurity will continue.in order to serve this high volume of people, Second Harvest partners with its network of nearly 400 partners at more than 900 sites supplying food via walk-up (farmers' market style) or drivethru distributions. Drive-thru grocery distributions offer clients a pre-selected mix of foods, while Second Harvest's walk-up farmers' market-style distributions allow clients to choose only the foods they want. As Second Harvest moves forward, it has focused its efforts on continuing to safely provide enough food to meet the higher demand, while transitioning some sites back to farmers' market style distributions. Second Harvest's mix of distributions using both the choice and drive-thru models has allowed it to better meet its clients' needs. In addition, Second Harvest continues to deliver pre-boxed groceries to an average of 4,900 households with homebound seniors and high-risk individuals.during fiscal year 2023, Second Harvest distributed 125 million pounds of food slightly more than 10 million pounds per month, versus 130 million pounds delivered in fiscal year 2022. While the total pounds decreased year over year, the amount of food delivered in fiscal year 2023 exceeded pre-pandemic levels by over 80%, up from 69 million pounds in 2019. The increased food insecurity experienced by our community has stretched Second Harvest's facilities as far as they can go. Second Harvest's management believes it is not operating efficiently every week, Second Harvest must make 54+ deliveries to move food between its warehouses before it even reaches the community. Meeting the increased need for food assistance in our community has continued to be a challenge as Second Harvest is currently operating out of four locations, one of which was specifically leased to support its increased distribution needs during the pandemic. While the leased facility continues to be a critical component of Second Harvest's overall operations, Second Harvest has realized that operating out of four sites is not sustainable. As a result, during fiscal year 2022, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley acquired 10.4 acres of land in north san jose with the intention of building a new operations warehouse that will allow it to consolidate its existing four operating warehouses into one location (see note 8). Second Harvest believes the new facility is critical for it to improve and expand on its ability to deliver a nutritious mix of foods to the community.in addition to distributing food, Second Harvest acts as an advocate helping school districts and community groups navigate existing state and federal meal programs and leveraging available public funds to make more food accessible to children. One in three kids in san mateo and santa clara counties are at risk of food insecurity and the issue is compounded by inflation which has increased food prices and impacted family budgets. Second Harvest stepped up its efforts to ensure that every child has access to healthy food during the school year and all summer long. Second Harvest proudly participated with its partners to successfully support a state bill that resulted in California being the first state in the country to pass a universal meals program, meaning every student can receive free school meals, reducing the stigma often associated with participating in meal programs. School year 2022-2023 was the first year for this program's implementation. An additional 247,000 students in san mateo and santa clara counties were able to eat two meals at school at no cost to them as a result. Second Harvest will continue to advocate on the federal level for all children in the u.s. to receive free school meals.a critical component to the success of Second Harvest's ability to deliver nutritious food to meet the needs of the community is its donors and volunteers. During fiscal year 2023, more than 53,000 donors provided over 133,000 gifts totaling $76.8 million. As previously described, Second Harvest believes the increased need for its services will last for many years to come. The surplus generated in prior years will be used to cover its planned deficit of $16 million in fiscal year 2024 and support the increased needs next year and future years as available. In addition to the continued strong donor support, Second Harvest was able to leverage 358,024,000 volunteer hours (including san jose conservation corps support), the equivalent of 172 full-time employees.the impact of the pandemic continues to be felt in our communities. In addition to the on-going effects of covid-19 and the challenges we are facing today from high inflation, high unemployment, instability around the world and political dynamics make it more challenging than ever for families facing food insecurity to recover. As a result, Second Harvest remains centered on meeting the needs of our community by providing healthy food to those who are most vulnerable and will continue to do so for as long as our community needs its support.