"Unraveling the Bay Area's Food Insecurity: A Call for Public Support"

Food Banks' Struggles in the Bay Area

Five food banks serving residents from Sonoma and Solano counties to Santa Clara County have come together to call for public support. These food banks are witnessing the impact of high cost of living areas on working families and seniors living on fixed incomes. As people in low-wage jobs struggle to make ends meet, the demand for food assistance has skyrocketed.

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, which serves San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, is providing produce to nearly 500,000 people a month, similar to the peak of the pandemic. However, prior to the pandemic, it served only 250,000 people through food distributions and grocery programs. The food bank is now facing a 20% budget shortfall and a 40% drop in funding since the pandemic.

Making Tough Choices to Make Ends Meet

To address the deficit, Second Harvest has had to make difficult decisions. It has paused providing meats and is giving out less dairy and eggs. In addition, it may look for ways to cut personnel costs to manage its expenses. Despite these challenges, the food bank is still putting in the same amount of effort in the community as during the pandemic.

Regi Young, executive director of Alameda County Community Food Bank, emphasizes that food is a policy decision. During the pandemic, food insecurity was at a low as the government injected funding into food banks and increased money available through food stamps. But now, those gains have disappeared as the government's priorities have shifted.

Fear of Funding Dwindling Under the New Administration

Leslie Bacho, chief executive officer at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, is concerned about the future of funding. As President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month, there is a fear that funding may further dwindle. During his previous term, Bacho's organization saw how immigrant communities were afraid to receive government resources. Second Harvest workers had to reassure them that it was safe to come to their food distributions.

"We're concerned right now because the farm bill is up for reauthorization, and that's how programs like CalFresh, or food stamps, is funded," Bacho said. "That's how a lot of the commodities, the food that we receive from the government, is funded. We're concerned about … what sort of impact (the new administration) might have on those resources."