Home-Delivered Groceries | Food & Friendship Door to Door

June 12, 2017

For many of our most vulnerable neighbors, food is more than the difference between an empty plate and a full stomach. It is also a lifeline – especially for neighbors who participate in the Food Bank’s Home-Delivered Groceries (HDG) Program.

For a closer look at the Home-Delivered Groceries program “in motion”, check out this video, taken at City Hope Community Center in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, featuring a beloved participant by the name of Susan who is visually impaired.

Then there’s the story of Marianne, who says the weekly delivery of fresh groceries she receives from the Food Bank is a life saver. She lives in a single-room-occupancy (SRO) hotel in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood and struggles with many health challenges.

“I’m disabled and have a hard time getting around, so being able to get my hands on this food at home is literally saving my life,” she said.

Before enrolling, Marianne recalls it was a constant battle to get enough food to eat.  “I couldn’t feed myself. Thankfully neighbors would offer me meals every once in a while. But there were days when it was really scary just how hungry I was.”

Marianne is one of 1,400 people enrolled in the Food Bank’s Home-Delivered Groceries Program, which assists low-income seniors and adults with disabilities who are unable to get out to pick up groceries, but still able to prepare meals for themselves.

The goals of the program are to provide supplemental nutrition to neighbors in need, to reduce loneliness, and to check on the well-being of our homebound residents.

HDG Program Director Andy Burns recalls one volunteer who had been delivering groceries to a senior for more than a year.  “Of course she’s performing a check in with this gentleman each week to make sure he’s doing okay.  At one point, the volunteer became ill, and had to be hospitalized.  While she was recuperating, the participant became so concerned for her that he started calling her to check on how she was doing!”

On this particular Tuesday afternoon, the knock on Marianne’s door comes right on time, as she is busy preparing a crockpot stew and needs fresh carrots to make the meal sing. In addition to carrots, this particular delivery included apples, chicken, rice and other staples that will nourish Marianne until her next weekly delivery.

Home-Delivered groceries are also a treat for the volunteers on Marianne’s route – a team of developmentally disabled adults who are enrolled at the Pomeroy Recreation and Rehabilitation Center, where they learn work and life skills. On Tuesday mornings, the volunteers work together to pack these grocery bags, then they head out in the afternoon to make deliveries to 13 neighbors.

Pomeroy’s LouBee Zielinski coordinates the program and says the volunteers are thrilled to help. “They love the looks on peoples’ faces when the groceries arrive. And, to be empowered with something like providing food for others – that’s huge.  It’s like Christmas every week, and we get to be Santa Claus!”

In addition to the Pomeroy Center, there are eight other nonprofits which partner with the Food Bank’s HDG Program, but more partners are needed. For more information on our Home-Delivered Groceries program, how it operates, and how you can get involved, click here.

 

Meet Jayden, a Hunger Hero

May 26, 2017

Fifth grader Jayden and his family rely on weekly food assistance from the Food Bank, but his superpower is giving back. This little hero wakes up every Monday morning, two hours before school starts, to volunteer with his grandmother at their neighborhood food pantry.

When we asked him whether it’s hard to get up early, he says, “I do it to make sure that everyone who comes to school won’t be hungry.”

All year, kids like Jayden step up to help their families and community face hunger. But when schools close for the summer and families lose access to school meal programs, childhood hunger reaches its peak. Right now, proposed cuts to food assistance programs threaten to make childhood summer hunger even worse.

Luckily, today you have twice the power to fight childhood hunger. Through June 15th, PG&E is matching all gifts to the Food Bank. Please make a gift today and be a Summer Hunger Hero for kids like Jayden. Please donate here.

Betty Ann’s BFFs

March 20, 2017

In these fast-paced times, the way we connect with friends has been completely redefined. But for 94-year-old Betty Ann, connecting with friends the old-fashioned way is an important lifeline.

When the longtime San Francisco resident entered her 90s, she was living a pretty lonely existence. Her beloved husband, Murle, whom she married back in 1944, passed away from Parkinson’s Disease after they had been married over 60 years.

Her grandson moved in to help Betty Ann around the house, but something was missing: companionship with people closer to her age.

“A social worker suggested that with my fixed income it might be time to contact the local food bank to supplement my groceries,” she said. “He also promised that I would meet nice people and enjoy myself.”

Betty Ann took the advice to heart, and within a few weeks she was enrolled at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s pantry at Ingleside Community Center, just a few blocks from her home. Before long, several friendships blossomed with other seniors whom she met at the pantry.

“I met Zakia, and Lita, and Jean, and Margaret. When they have a birthday, we save our money and go someplace for lunch,” Betty Ann said. “Friends are very important, especially at my age. They keep me happy.”

Betty is thankful for the money she saves by receiving food at the pantry. Her favorite food items are chicken, eggs and vegetables – ones that would cost the most if she purchased them on her own. Like many seniors, she is trying to remain in the city she knows and loves, as the cost of living continues to climb.

“Everything is pretty high right now – the utilities and everything,” she said. “Everything goes up and my income stays the same.”

What isn’t staying the same is the network of friends Betty Ann continues to build at the Ingleside Community Center pantry.

Do you know a senior who could benefit from healthy groceries and companionship? If so, check out our Food Locator feature on our website.  There, you’ll find information about our pantry network, our other programs, and instructions on how to sign up for food assistance.

Donate to programs that help neighbors like Betty Ann.

Nutrition Education: 3 Tips To Get Your Nutrition On!

March 3, 2017

March is National Nutrition Month, a perfect time to celebrate and highlight one of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s organizational values: improving nutrition for our community members. Here are three things our Nutrition Education team suggests you can do to make healthier choices:

Incorporate MyPlate into your meal routine  

  • Make sure that half of what you eat in a day is fruits and vegetables. Fresh, frozen or canned produce can all help you meet that goal.
  • Choose lean proteins such as beans, chicken, tofu, turkey, eggs, nuts, seeds, and fish.
  • Although not every meal needs to include all five food groups, try your best to include as many food groups as possible in each meal. Ideally, meals should include at least three of the five food groups, and snacks should include two of the five

 

Read nutrition labels (Here are a few tips for gleaning the best information)

  • Labels only show the nutritional facts for “1” serving, so be sure to check the serving size! For example, you may be surprised to learn that just 1/2 cup counts as a full serving of cereal, so if you eat a full cup, you are getting double the calories and nutrients.
  • Percent Daily Values (% DVs) show if a food is high or low in certain nutrients. Five percent or less is considered low and 20% or more is considered high. For example, a serving that has 25% DV of sodium would be high in sodium
  • Ingredients are listed by weight, with the highest weight at the top of the list. If sugar (or another name for sugar) is listed as one of the top three ingredients, know that the item is going to have high sugar content, and so, it may be best to avoid choosing that product.

Choose whole grains

  • Adding grains to your daily meal routine is important, but make sure you’re consuming whole grains whenever possible. They’re higher in fiber, keep you feeling fuller for a longer period of time, and also aid your digestion.
  • Don’t let the packaging or colors fool you! To make sure that you’re actually choosing whole-grain products, make sure that the top ingredient on your ingredient list says the word “whole.”
  • Whole grains include brown rice, oats, and whole-wheat pasta. We recommend that half of your daily grains are whole grains.
  • Fun fact: Whole grains have three layers, each contributing essential nutrients for our body.

 

Want more nutrition tips like these?  Sign up for our monthly eNewsletter and/or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Remedios’ Story | Full House, Much Love

March 1, 2017

Remedios looks back on her life just three short years ago and can’t believe all the things that have transpired since then.  It started with her adult daughter dying unexpectedly, leaving behind a grieving husband and 10 children.  Her daughter’s husband and children did their best to get up in the morning, get dressed, and keep going, but it was clear they were struggling to stay afloat.

With her grandchildren’s well-being at stake, Remedios did the only thing she could think of:  she made room in her modest home for her grandchildren and her son in law. And then she said a prayer.

“I have to be positive. It’s hard, but I know I have to take it one day at a time,” she said. “My daughter left us, and we have to deal with that, but thankfully, God is on our side, and so is the Food Bank.”

Remedios’ weekly routine of visiting the food pantry at the Ingleside Community Center is one way the family is moving forward after their loss. Picking up fresh groceries and visiting with neighbors at the food pantry every Thursday has helped rebuild a sense of safety and security for her grandchildren, who range in age from six to 18.

Since Remedios and her husband are in their 80s and live on a fixed income, getting supplemental food from the pantry is essential for nourishing their fast-growing grandchildren. Like most kids, they have big appetites.

“Oh my goodness, they are unbelievable,” Remedios said. “Twenty-four hours a day they are always in the kitchen! Especially during the rainy season…oh, they want to eat again and again and again!”

Remedios especially appreciates all of the fresh produce she receives at the pantry because getting the kids to eat healthy is very important to her. She said, “I am very thankful for the food, and I make extra sure that It goes a long way.”

 

Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice

January 31, 2017

Thanks to our generous supporters, the Food Bank will distribute a little more than 49 million pounds of food in the coming year – providing over 30,000 low-income families with nourishment each week.  But our mission is so much more than just receiving and distributing food.  We have a team of nutrition education experts, hard at work, developing new programs aimed at teaching participants how to make the most of the healthy food they receive on a weekly basis.

“Our goal is to make the healthy choice the easy choice for neighbors who receive food assistance,” says Molly Burke, the Food Bank’s Nutrition Education Program Manager.

She is particularly excited about the launch of two pioneer programs in 2017.  One centers on teenagers and the other will focus on pregnant women, new moms, and caregivers.

Teens Tackle the Kitchen” is a 4-week, interactive series that will engage teens in healthy competition to make the healthiest, tastiest meals and snacks they can using Food Bank ingredients.

“By making our cooking workshops fun and competitive, we’re hoping to engage teens more effectively,” said Burke.  “Learning how to cook healthy food from scratch encourages teens avoid unhealthy, processed foods and is a great skill that they can carry with them into adulthood.”

Senior Nutrition Education Coordinator Nalleli Martinez will head up the Food Bank’s other new program, “Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies.” It will encourage new mothers to think about nutrition not only for themselves, but also for their babies during one of the most important and often hectic times of transition in their lives.

“We know that good health depends on good nutrition right from the start,” said Martinez. “Our aim is to foster smart choices and behaviors that can boost mothers’ health, their babies’ health, and the health of their entire family moving forward.”

 

Video | Happy New Year 2017

January 12, 2017

As we embark on a New Year at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, we want to recognize the accomplishments you helped make possible. With the support of thousands of volunteers, donors, and partners, we nourished nearly a quarter of a million neighbors last year. Thank you! We hope you are as excited and energized as we are for 2017.

Donate Your Car and Help Neighbors in Need

December 21, 2016

“Donate your car and turn your wheels into meals.”

Bay Area Broadcasters Give Not One, but Two Gifts to the Food Bank

Do you have an old clunker that’s taking up space in your driveway or garage? Are you moving soon and want to “lighten the load” by off-loading your vehicle? Are you interested in a generous tax write-off, while giving back to your neighbors who can use some help?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we encourage you to follow the lead of longtime Bay Area broadcasting duo Mike Sugerman and Janice Wright. They recently donated their car to benefit the Food Bank as they prepared to retire and relocate to the east coast to be closer to family.

Having covered Food Bank stories for years for KCBS Radio and KPIX TV, Mike and Janice were delighted to discover that the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank accepts donated cars – a perfect send-off for their Toyota that wouldn’t be making the trip. In fact, they were so excited, they gave us another gift…this song:

Vehicle donations play a critical role in some of the work we do here at the Food Bank.  Last year, people donated 33 cars to the Food Bank. We were able to turn those into $27,000, good enough to provide nearly 55,000 meals.

Donate Your Car
Donating your unwanted car or truck  is easier than selling it and you’ll receive a tax receipt for your contribution. You can donate your car by visiting Center for Car Donations. If you have any questions, please email our Donor Services or call (415) 282-1900, ext 353.

Day in the Life of Our Delivery Trucks

December 6, 2016

It’s 5 am, and the roll-up door closes with a metal clunk. Secured inside the truck’s cargo hold are dozens of pallets of food, ready to be delivered to pantry sites throughout the city.

Food Bank driver and lead dispatcher Marc Zaminsky checks the log one last time and fires up the truck. He pulls out of the Food Bank’s driveway onto the quiet streets of San Francisco.

His first stop is Marshall Elementary School, located in the Mission District. He pulls up to the curb, then uses the truck’s lift to lower the pallets of food to street level. Marc then wheels the food inside.

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Today’s delivery features cantaloupe, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, rice, raisins, boxes of cereal, oranges, potatoes, carrots, apples and eggs. Volunteers take care to display the fresh produce and other products so they are ready when families arrive to select their groceries for the week.

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Next up is a Single Room Occupancy hotel a few blocks away. The pantry coordinator is waiting by the door. She walks to the curb to greet Marc. The hallway is too narrow for the pallet jack so the pantry volunteers pitch in to help carry the boxes inside. The pantry will open in 30 minutes, so the volunteers quickly unload the boxes and set up the pantry tables.pantrynetwork-header

Afterward, three more stops are made, at a community center, a church, and a middle school, until finally, the cargo bay is empty. Marc checks off his log and heads back to the Food Bank.

Back at the Food Bank, Marc pulls into a loading bay, and the work begins again. The truck is loaded with pallets of food. The heaviest items, like potatoes and melons, layer the bottom of the pallet. Lighter, crushable items like cereal and eggs go on top.

Once the truck is loaded, Marc checks in at the dispatch room for any last minute changes. Then, he heads back into the city to bring more food to the people who need it.

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“This is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. When you arrive at the pantries, people are smiling and happy to see you. There’s joy because you’re bringing them relief, you’re bringing them food,” says Marc Zaminsky. 

CalFresh ‘Churn’ Means More Missing Meals in SF and Marin

December 1, 2016

CalFresh – known nationally as SNAP and formerly as ‘food stamps’ – is a cornerstone of our food safety net in California. Almost 4.5 million people participate in CalFresh statewide, and more than 60,000[1] people participate in San Francisco and Marin combined. CalFresh participants receive an “EBT card” – which functions like a debit card that gets replenished with CalFresh benefits each month; participants then use CalFresh benefits to buy food in grocery stores and farmers’ markets.

Unfortunately, CalFresh churn is a big problem among many recipients.

Churn is when an eligible recipient unexpectedly loses CalFresh benefits, usually because of missed reporting requirements, only to re-enroll within one to three months.

In order to stay on benefits, CalFresh households must report eligibility information periodically. At six months after initial application, participants must notify the county of any household circumstances that have changed through a form called a SAR 7; at one year, they must re-verify all household information and complete an interview. The idea is that household circumstances sometimes change, and having a regularly scheduled time when participants submit documents and verifications ensures their status with CalFresh remains accurate.

But in practice, many households suddenly find themselves with an empty EBT card, unable to buy groceries. Imagine standing at a grocery check-out counter, only to find that your debit card unexpectedly had a $0 balance? What would that mean for feeding your family and paying the rest of your bills that month?

An interruption in CalFresh benefits, even for a month, can have real, damaging consequences for a family that is living on the edge of financial stability. For example, a household with the average CalFresh benefit of $304 per month would lose about 100 meals during the month when benefits are interrupted.

Statewide, one in five Calfresh applications received is from someone who was on CalFresh in the last 90 days.

Why does this happen? Confusion about the semi-annual reporting process, difficult-to-read letters from the county, language barriers, a missed interview, or a recent change in address or phone number can all result in benefits being terminated. It is not difficult to imagine a situation in which a busy family with multiple jobs, hectic schedules of school and childcare, combined with the stress of paying bills and keeping household paperwork in order, could end up missing CalFresh deadlines. Once benefits have been lost, households sometimes have to reapply for benefits all over again.

In addition to hurting recipients, CalFresh churn is inefficient and troublesome for county administrators. Instead of helping new clients enroll or improving the program overall, workers spend valuable time completing new applications for cases which should never have been discontinued in the first place.

We estimate that in San Francisco and Marin, $280,000 in CalFresh money are lost each month due to churn.

Over the next month, the Food Bank Advocacy Team will share a series of blog posts about CalFresh churn. Next week, we will dive into our county-level data in San Francisco and Marin. In subsequent weeks, we will explore more specifically what causes churn, and provide recommendations to diagnose churn and implement effective solutions.

Join us as we explore this topic!

 

[1] DFA 256 Report, August 2016: http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/research/PG352.htm
[2] CDSS CalFresh Household Profile, FFY, 2014: http://www.calfresh.ca.gov/PG844.htm