“The food I receive helps me get by.”

Joann Medeiros is a retired San Francisco native on a fixed income. She is a volunteer and program participant at the Hosanna Celebration pantry in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco. We met her at the pantry when she was working and she kindly shared her story with us. Volunteering is my way of giving [...]

Selecting Food for the Pantries

“Sometimes we get kabocha squashes that most people don’t recognize but we know our Asian agencies love. It’s about knowing who you are serving and what foods we have available and making the best matches.” – Barbara Lin, Program Manager. When the Food Bank sends food out into the community we thoughtfully consider who is [...]

Out of school – and minus a meal

“Imagine you don’t have a well-paying job. Imagine you don’t have a nice apartment, or your home. You have three kids. You’re working part-time at McDonald’s. Then you have another job on top of that. You have one child in childcare, two in school, and you’re paying more than half of your income for rent. [...]

New Hybrid Truck Rolls Out Savings – and a New Look

The San Francisco Food Bank recently celebrated the arrival of our first hybrid truck. Not only will the new truck mean a 38% savings in fuel costs, but it will also cut back on noise and pollution in neighborhood areas when deliveries are made. The new truck’s look is as bold as its fuel savings. [...]

“It’s good. It’s all good.”

Edgar lives in an SRO in the Tenderloin, where he both volunteers at and receives food from the building’s Food Bank pantry. My name is Edgar. I’m 63. I was born and raised in San Francisco, and I used to work for a janitorial service off and on. I worked in kitchens. And a lot of [...]

“The only meals they ate were from our cafeteria.”

Sally Carbonaro* is a mother of two. She’s also the pantry coordinator at Hamilton Elementary School in Novato, Marin County. In a recent interview, she reflected on the impact the school’s pantry has had in the year since it opened. We started our pantry— we call it the Hamilton Family Market—almost a year ago. When [...]

“If somebody needs my help, I will give it to them. That’s how it goes.”

Gamal* and his family are from Morocco. They fled domestic violence there and settled in San Francisco two years ago. Gamal is 19 years old. He’s a pantry volunteer and client. Here is his story in his own words: I’m from Casablanca. I live like, 15 years in Morocco and when I was four years [...]

A Recipe for Good Nutrition

At grocery pantries, we don’t just hand out food – we also hand out advice and information. We give clients recipes and fact sheets to get them acquainted with our many fresh produce items, so they know how to use them in their meals. That’s especially important when clients aren’t culturally familiar with a particular [...]

“I have to be strong.”

Casey Walter (left) lives in a supportive housing facility in the Tenderloin with her mother, Jessie, and her siblings. Jessie shared her story with us in a recent interview: I’ve lived here in the Tenderloin for three years. We were homeless and there was a lady officer who fought for us to get housed here [...]

Hunger Takes Over the Headlines

This Thanksgiving, the San Francisco Food Bank made sure that 30,000 households enjoyed a fresh, healthy holiday dinner. But shocking news stories about hunger in the Bay Area – and across our country – underscore the fact that more and more people every day are seeking help. In the past two years, San Francisco has [...]