Second Harvest Food Bank Mobile Pantry. Photo courtesy of Michelle Wall/Second Harvest Food Bank
Second Harvest Food Bank Mobile Pantry. Photo courtesy of Michelle Wall/Second Harvest Food Bank
This holiday season, give a gift that matters. Give the gift of food.
This holiday season is critical. As we strive to feed more and more people in need in our community, we are asking everyone to do what they can and give a gift that matters – the gift of food.
Now is the time to pull together. It is through the generosity and sacrifice of people in our community that we will be able to weather this storm and continue to meet the growing need of our community.
No gift is too small. For every dollar donated, we can provide two nutritious meals to people in need in our community.
For about the price of a latte, you can provide 10 meals to people in need in our community.
When the Food Bank was founded in 1974, we were an agency that was 100% government funded. Today, we receive only 8% of our funding from the government; the rest comes from the community.
The Need
Our goals for this year’s Holiday Food and Fund Drive are to collect $10 million and 1.9 million pounds of food. We are hopeful that the community will rally its resources this holiday season and help us reach our goals.
Even as the economy begins to recover, the requests for help continue to grow since joblessness is still on the rise. Last year our multi-lingual Food Connection hotline received more than 40,000 calls, a 44% increase over the previous year.
Currently, more than two thirds of callers to our Food Connection hotline are first time callers who have never before needed food assistance.
• These people are recently-unemployed or had their hours cut and are finding themselves in a position of being unable to buy enough nutritious food for themselves and their families.
• Most have solid work histories; some of them used to donate to the Food Bank through their company’s food drives.
Every month more than 207,000 people in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties rely on the Food Bank to help them feed themselves and their families.
The winter season becomes an even more precarious time for many of our clients who rely on seasonal work such as construction and landscaping. Plus higher utility bills means less money for food.
In addition to the increase in people coming to us for help, the Food Bank is also struggling with a decrease in canned food and shelf stable donations. The majority of the food we distribute is donated food and as large manufacturers and retailers tighten their belts, the Food Bank has to turn to the community and other sources to make up those lost donations. We are also in need of high-quality, high-protein items such as tuna, soups and chili, as well as canned fruit and canned vegetables.
Efficiency
For the third year in a row, Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator, has given us a 4-star rating (the highest available) for our sound fiscal management. Only 11% of US charities receive at least three consecutive 4-star ratings.
Impact
We are the primary source of food for 316 partner nonprofit agencies serving the hungry in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties through 834 distribution sites.
• Pantries receive 83% of their food from us
• Children’s programs receive 82% of their food from us
• Soup kitchens receive 57% of their food from us
• We are seeing more and more families at soup kitchens as they find themselves in transitional housing situations
Because of the high cost of living in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, more people than ever are choosing between paying for housing, utilities, fuel, medical expenses and buying enough nutritious food for themselves and their families
• 67% of the people we serve are families with children
• 12% of the people we serve are seniors
• 6% of senior households served have children living with them
• Our Brown Bag program provides food to low-income seniors. The average age of our Brown Bag recipient is 75 and average monthly household income is $1,121.
• Our Family Harvest program provides food to low-income families with dependent children. The average monthly household income for a Family Harvest client is $1,450.
Ninety-five percent of families in our Family Harvest program report that their children now eat healthier because of the food they receive from us.
We are the single largest non-profit provider of food to low-income households in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties,
Our service area stretches from South San Francisco to Gilroy and from the ocean to the bay.
The consequences of hunger are far reaching
• Mothers in food insecure households are significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression. This depression can negatively impact a young child’s social-emotional development.
• Children living in very low food security households are more likely to be overweight than children living in food secure households. This is because low-income families often rely on calories dense, high fat processed and fast food that can be purchased cheaply and easily.
• Children in food insecure households are more likely to be hospitalized.
• Food insecurity is associated with greater behavioral problems – such as hyperactivity and aggression – in both adults and children.
• Elementary school children from food insecure families are more likely to have to repeat a grade.
Information courtesy of Michelle Wall, Community Relations & Events Coordinator of Second Harvest Food Bank
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