San Francisco (December 18, 2019) The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank (SFMFB) is facing unprecedented challenges this year during the giving season. Increased pressure resulting from wildfire evacuations and power outages have made year-end giving to the Food Bank more urgent than ever. Currently, the Food Bank needs to bring in nearly a quarter of its annual budget before December 31.
For thirty-two years, the SFMFB has been working hard to meet the demand for food, now at 32,000 households a week, whether due to growing family expenses or from disaster relief. According to recent studies, one in five people is at risk of hunger in San Francisco and Marin counties.
Different dynamics have impeded contributions this year, including donations funneled to disaster relief in local communities experiencing hardship and federal tax code changes that disincentivize middle-class donors. “Compounded issues have affected our end of year giving, said Paul Ash, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank Executive Director. We need to raise a significant amount of our annual budget in the last two weeks of the year, in order to fulfill our financial goals to meet the needs of our community.”
Available for phone and in-person interviews: Paul Ash, Executive Director San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Paul has led the SFMFB as executive director since 1989. Paul’s commitment to ending hunger in San Francisco has enabled the growth of the Food Bank to skyrocket from distributing just under three million pounds of food 30 years ago to about 48 million pounds this past year.
Pamela Wellner
Interim Manager, Media & Public Relations, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank
(cell) 415-730-0105, pwellner@sfmfoodbank.org
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ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO-MARIN FOOD BANK San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin, where one in five neighbors is at risk of hunger. We envision a community where everyone is able to obtain enough nutritious food in a dignified manner to support the health and well-being of themselves and their families. We address hunger head on: from our pantry network and home-delivered groceries, to our nutrition-education classes and food-stamp enrollment, we work in many ways to nourish and empower neighbors in need. Every week, 32,000 households count on us for food assistance. Nearly 60 percent of what we distribute is fresh fruits and vegetables. Learn more at www.sfmfoodbank.org.
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