Category: Volunteers & Donors

“We make a life by what we give” — Meet Mattie

April 17, 2026

On Wednesday mornings at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s Marin warehouse, Matelina, who goes by Mattie, sorts through pallet boxes of donations, checking expiration dates before anything reaches the shop floor. She’s been volunteering multiple days a week since 2019. 

“[Volunteering at the Food Bank] gives me a purpose to live,” Mattie said. “It’s nice to have a schedule to get up and have a purpose.” 

At 80, retired and widowed, Mattie could be doing anything with her Wednesdays. But purpose isn’t a word she uses lightly; she’s spent her life choosing it. 

She keeps a folded piece of paper in her back pocket — a quote from Winston Churchill: 

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” 

Born in American Samoa, Mattie came to San Francisco at 13 to get an education and supported herself through school with office work and odd jobs. At 18, she was in the audience at a luau when the building caught fire. She was badly burned, spent three years in and out of the hospital, went through 19 surgeries, and lost the use of her hands. But the nurses who cared for her at St. Mary’s Hospital changed the course of her life. 

“That’s what made me want to be a nurse,” she said. 

Mattie regained use of her hands, went on to work as a registered nurse in orthopedics, married a wonderful man, and raised three step kids in Marin. But even in the good years, she remembers the challenges of her journey and how she got there. 

“I’ve never forgotten where I came from,” she said. “So, I just keep giving and giving because it’s very satisfying and meaningful.” 

Mattie found the Food Bank through an ad in a local paper. She started with two days a week. Then added a third, and then, during COVID, a fourth. 

Today she oversees the shop floor on Wednesdays and works the warehouse on Tuesdays and Fridays. There’s a spot on the table the staff calls Mattie’s World. As she sorts through donations, Mattie pulls aside items she thinks would suit a senior or someone living alone, extras to go with the produce, proteins, and groceries the Food Bank distributes. 

“She’s just so integral to everything that we’re doing,” said Randy Rollman, senior warehouse coordinator in Marin. “The leadership, setting a good example for the rest of the volunteers. They’re very meticulous about the way they take care of business up there.” 

On Fridays, Mattie helps pack bags of groceries for homebound seniors who can’t get to a pantry. Each one holds frozen food, vegetables, fruit, rice, pasta, and eggs. 

“When we do the Friday delivery, I don’t see the people,” she said. “We just see the bags and the food.” 

But Mattie knows they’re out there. She packs each bag around 30 pounds heavy, enough to feed a home for a week. 

This April, for Volunteer Appreciation Month, we’re recognizing the people like Mattie who show up week after week to make this work possible. More than 55,000 volunteers a year help us provide fresh food to 44,000 households across San Francisco and Marin.

And Mattie has a message for anyone thinking about joining: 

“We need to have you. We’d love to have you join us. We have a fabulous group of people and you’d really enjoy being with us.” 

Remembering Gary Maxworthy, a Titan of Food Banking

April 3, 2026

Each year, the Farm to Family program delivers more than 300 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to food banks statewide to help nourish local communities

Gary Maxworthy transformed a sector. His work impacted hundreds of thousands of families in need by asking a bold question: why couldn’t food banks provide fresh fruits and vegetables grown in California for neighbors in need? 

Gary was charismatic and always had a twinkle in his eyes. He loved people and helped you believe anything was possible.  He was a man whose vision, and unwavering devotion to helping all in our community access healthy fruits and vegetables revolutionized how California food banks operate. He passed away on April 1, 2026. 

After more than three decades in the food distribution business, Gary came to the San Francisco Food Bank at 56 after the loss of his first wife. His children encouraged a change, and volunteering soon became a compass for new purpose. He joined AmeriCorps as a VISTA volunteer, with his first and only assignment at the San Francisco Food Bank.  

Armed with a mission-driven commitment to address the growing problem of hunger, Gary channeled his grief into actions that strengthened our community. 

Gary drew on his deep expertise and quickly saw what needed to change. Food banks at the time relied mostly on canned and packaged goods, while food distributors were sending millions of pounds of fresh produce to landfills every year because it was considered a surplus harvest — nutritious but not photogenic produce.  He knew that if everyone worked together, something transformative could happen. 

Gary believed people facing hunger deserved access to the same fresh fruits and vegetables as anyone else. He was determined to make that happen, even if it meant years of driving up and down Central Valley roads and throughout California to talk with farmers about donating their excess food. In 2000, Gary’s idea took shape as Farm to Family, a groundbreaking program that connects California growers directly with food banks.  

Today, Farm to Family serves nearly every food bank in California. Last year, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank secured 39 million pounds of food through the Farm to Family program, bringing more than 71 types of delicious fruits and vegetables into our neighbors’ homes. The innovative program he launched at San Francisco-Marin Food Bank has now scaled across California, greatly expanding access to fresh, healthy food for those who are food insecure. Each year, the program delivers more than 300 million pounds — about 9,000 tractor trailer loads — of fresh fruits and vegetables to food banks statewide to help nourish local communities

Thanks to Gary, more than 70 percent of what San Francisco-Marin Food Bank provides to participants is fresh produce.  This is the gold standard in food access — providing desired, fresh, culturally responsive produce — a dramatic shift from the canned and packaged food of the past, and a change that continues to set us apart nationwide.

Gary and Radha met through their shared passion for the Food Bank — and even held their wedding at our San Francisco warehouse.

For 23 years, Gary poured his heart into the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. His colleagues remember the way he led with care, mentored the next generation of food bankers and never lost sight of the heart of this work and who really mattered: the participants we serve.  

Gary’s connection to the Food Bank also led to new pathways in his life. He met a kindred spirit in Radha Stern, who shared his commitment to help those struggling to put food on their tables. It was not just the Food Bank’s mission; it was a personal one for the couple. Their connection to the Food Bank was so deeply rooted, they held their wedding at our San Francisco warehouse. 

Gary’s legacy lives on with every moment neighbors enjoy nutritious produce from a community market. It lives on when families gather around a table for a meal made from fresh groceries from our Neighborhood Pantry Network.And it lives on when a parent selects food of their family’s preference at a partner’s farmer’s market style pantry, packing a delicious nectarine into their child’s school lunch. So many in the communities we serve, and across California, thrive because of the transformational work that Gary started.   

We are deeply grateful to have had Gary as part of our Food Bank family.  

Two Colleagues, One Cause, and a Smarter Way to Give

March 23, 2026

For 26 years, Chris and Paul were colleagues at Shartsis Friese, a San Francisco law firm. Both supported the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank for decades. Both volunteered. Both donated year after year. Then Chris told Paul about a tool that would make their giving go even further: donor-advised funds (DAFs). 

“Somehow I missed donor-advised funds all of that time,” Paul says. “And [when I heard about them] I was like, ‘Really, that’s so great and so simple.'” 

How DAFs Work 

The concept really is that simple. A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable giving account through a financial institution. You contribute cash, appreciated stock, or other assets and get a tax deduction for the full market value right away. The money is invested and can grow over time, though returns depend on your investment choices and market conditions. Then you recommend grants to any eligible charity, whenever you want and in whatever amount makes sense. Your regular causes, a disaster relief fund halfway across the world, all from the same account. 

Chris (right)and Paul are longtime donors of the Food Bank who have been able to deepen their impact through opening donor-advised funds.

When the Maui wildfires hit, Paul didn’t have to think twice. “That really got me because I love that island,” he says. “And so I just went on to my donor advice fund and brought up Maui Food Bank and sent them some money.” Within a week or two, the Maui Food Bank had a check. 

Chris put it in real-world terms. 

“If you’ve got Apple stock you bought 20 years ago and now it’s worth 10 times as much, you can put the stock in the DAF, get the tax benefit of having made the charitable contribution at that time, and avoid capital gains taxes,” he explains. “Then you direct grants to nonprofits whenever you want.” 

Paul wants others to know it’s not as daunting as it sounds. “If it sounds complicated, give it a try once,” he says. “And you’ll realize it’s really not that difficult.” 

And he’s found an unexpected benefit to DAF giving: “Since it’s easier, I [donate] a little bit more than I would otherwise.” 

More Than a Check 

If you ask Chris and Paul why they commit money and time to the Food Bank’s mission, it’s not about the tax benefit. 

“Food is fundamental,” Chris says. “You can’t have a life without it.” 

There’s also a human element. 

“What I love about [the Food Bank] is not only is it a great organization, but it’s the rare organization that you can support financially and also be a regular volunteer,” he continues. “You become a regular and you know everybody, which is much more fun to do.” 

During the pandemic, that’s exactly what he did. When a Catholic Charities pantry serving seniors at Temple Methodist Church lost its regular volunteers (many of whom were older adults staying home to protect their health), Chris got a call asking if he could volunteer at the pantry. He said yes, and kept showing up every Thursday for three years. He eventually brought Paul along. 

For Paul, showing up runs in the family. In his 20s, he and his four siblings made a pact: stop exchanging gifts and donate to charity instead. That habit never left. 

“I’ve certainly spent even more time volunteering than I had before,” he says. “That just feels like it’s necessary for people to do.” 

Pass It On 

Chris puts it simply: “Every organization ought to have the DAF on their radar.” 

For Chris and Paul, the DAF is just the latest way to show up for a cause they’ve believed in for decades — and a way to make every dollar go even further. 

Showing Up for Community During the Shutdown

March 17, 2026

Paul Russell, director of operations at NMCS

On a Friday morning in early December, volunteers load fresh produce into car trunks at North Marin Community Services (NMCS) in Novato. The 43-day government shutdown, the longest in our nation’s history, ended weeks earlier, but the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s emergency food distributions continued.

The shutdown had cut off CalFresh benefits — California’s SNAP program — for 125,000 people across San Francisco and Marin, while leaving thousands of federal workers without paychecks. Both groups were still catching up on bills, with no relief in sight.

Working with partners throughout the region, the Food Bank launched its Shutdown Community Response to quickly get fresh, nutritious food to the people who needed it most. Twenty-four community partners and 7,000 volunteers stepped up to meet the surge in need. An unprecedented public-private partnership distributed more than $14.3 million in direct purchasing power to 67,597 San Franciscans.

By the end, the response delivered 1.1 million extra pounds of food, providing 800,000 meals to households that would have otherwise gone without.

Valerie, a retired nurse who has volunteered with the Food Bank since 2020.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

“When we put out a call for help, we knew our community would answer,” said Paul Russell, director of operations at NMCS.

“NMCS started to get calls directly from the community saying, ‘I hear this is happening. I’m concerned my neighbors are going to go without food. What can we bring for you that will be helpful for them?'”

They showed up in droves. Valerie, a retired nurse who has volunteered at the Novato pantry every Tuesday since 2020, drove up from Mill Valley for the extra Friday distribution.

“People don’t ask for hard times,” she said, “but hard times happen when you don’t expect it and you aren’t prepared for it.”

In just one month, NMCS received approximately 12 pallets of donated food from neighbors, schools, churches, and businesses, complementing the fresh produce NMCS distributes through the Food Bank’s Neighborhood Food Network. Together, the Food Bank and NMCS added emergency Friday distributions to supplement the regular Tuesday pantry, serving 60 to 70 households each week.

Jennie, a longtime participant who was grateful for the extra groceries.

“It Was Absolutely Horrifying”

Among them was Jennie, who has relied on the pantry at NMCS for seven years. Living alone in Novato, she depends on it and her CalFresh benefits to make ends meet. Without the pantry, the cost of groceries alone would be overwhelming.

“Sometimes it just comes down to dollars and cents,” she said. “It’s 10 bucks for this, eight bucks for that… it could be $50 a week.”

When the shutdown cut her benefits, she faced an impossible choice between paying rent and buying groceries.

“It was absolutely horrifying,” Jennie said. “None of us knew when they were going to come back.”

The extra Friday distributions kept Jennie afloat while her CalFresh benefits were paused. They’ve since been reinstated, but she knows that plenty of people in her community are still struggling with food insecurity.

For Jennie, though, the pantry has become more than a place to pick up groceries. It’s where she sees her community show up for each other.

“If I’m just feeling really depressed and I come here, it really helps my mood ” she said. “Just seeing the people get the food and that makes me happy.”

The Mission Continues

After nearly six years volunteering with the Food Bank (and through two unprecedented emergencies), Valerie saw firsthand how hunger touches every corner of her community.

“I see all the faces of people who do experience food insecurity, and it’s all walks of life,” she said. “Seniors, and I’m a senior now. I just can relate. It could be me.”

For Jennie, Valerie, and Russell, the shutdown made one thing clear: hunger is a policy choice. With billions in SNAP cuts on the horizon, the threats to food security aren’t going away. But neither is the community that showed up.

Over those two months, Russell saw the proof of community in the parking lot.

“The fact that I look right in front of me and I see pallets of food that have been brought in as a response from neighbors, from schools, from churches, businesses,” he said.

“Everyone came to us right away. And it was gratifying that they saw us as the organization that’s going to respond.”

When the safety net fails, partnerships between the Food Bank and organizations like NMCS — fueled by volunteers like Valerie and neighbors who refuse to let anyone go hungry — hold people up.

“The mission is just so necessary, especially now,” Valerie said.

Jennie is in agreement.

“There’s so many horrible things happening in the world that I try to create joy and beauty and observe it whenever I can,” she said. “This [place] is one of those little nuggets.”

Reflections On Being in Service to the Community

February 26, 2026

Ending hunger takes more than food. It takes trusted partners who know their communities and show up for them week after week. For Black History Month, we’re spotlighting three partners whose service to their neighbors is also a reflection of the Food Bank’s mission and commitment to the leadership of our partners in providing community-led solutions to hunger. 

Shanell Williams, Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness 

In partnership with the Food Bank, Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness recently opened a Community Market at Umoja Health Access Point in Bayview Hunters Point. Resembling neighborhood grocery stores, Community Markets let participants choose the proteins, produce, and culturally relevant foods they bring home, and are open multiple days each week. The program centers on respect for participants and the power of choice. It also connects them to behavioral health, wellness, and other supportive services that address the root causes of hunger, all under one roof. 

For Shanell Williams, Rafiki’s executive director, food is an entry point for overall well-being. “To really be healthy, it’s not just one domain,” she says. “It’s making sure that folks have access to mental wellness, complementary medicine, supports for chronic health conditions. And food is a big part of that.” 

Bayview Hunters Point has long been a food desert, and Shanell sees Community Markets as a direct response to that history. “What we love about the community food market is that it’s open access, low barrier, and it’s also about dignity,” she says. “Just because folks are needing to access services doesn’t mean we lose that piece around dignity.” 

Shanell grew up in the Fillmore, San Francisco’s historic Black neighborhood known as the Harlem of the West. Her community-focused leadership journey includes community organizing serving eight years on the San Francisco Community College Board and a decade at UCSF as the Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships at the school’s California Preterm Birth Initiative program. At Rafiki, she hires from the community and builds career pipelines for the people who do the work alongside her. She calls them “PhD doers,” honoring their lived expertise. “It’s really for me about community empowerment,” she says. 

Chester Williams, Community Living Campaign 

Shanell’s work connects people to food and services in one place. Chester Williams brings both directly to people’s doors. 

Every week, the Community Living Campaign (CLC) helps get bags of fresh groceries to roughly 140 elderly neighbors who can’t get to a pantry on their own. The Food Bank supplies the fresh produce and groceries. Meals on Wheels San Francisco provides the operational space. And Chester’s team of volunteers packs the bags and delivers them door to door.  As Bayview food coordinator for CLC, Chester has spent more than a decade coordinating home-delivered groceries for seniors across Bayview, Visitacion Valley, Parkmerced and Lakeview.   

Chester grew up in the Fillmore. He’s Catholic, raised in a tradition of service and commitment to the common good at St. Dominic’s and Sacred Heart. That foundation carried him from teaching elementary school to directing a community technology lab to His delivery routes today reach seniors who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish and other languages. For Chester, making sure every participant feels understood and cared for is the whole point. “I grew up with that feeling of you need to help others no matter who,” he says. “After a while, it’s not even a job anymore. You just automatically put that in.”  

Veronica Shepard, San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition 

Chester serves individuals one door at a time. Veronica Shepard mobilizes entire congregations. 

When Veronica and a colleague conducted food security screenings at Black churches across San Francisco, the results were stark: congregants were going hungry, and their pastors had no idea. “These pastors learned their own congregants were hungry and they were blown away by the results,” Veronica says. “Food is relative to everything. You can be unhoused, but you still got to have food.” 

That discovery united faith leaders across the city. In 2016, Veronica formed the San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition, bringing pastors, ministers and leaders from across denominations together around the urgency of food insecurity. The coalition impacts some of the city’s most vulnerable populations (Black/African American, Pacific Islanders, Latinx, Black and Middle Eastern Muslims) which have been   partnered with the Food Bank for the past six years. 

Each December, the coalition produces Feeding 5,000, a holiday food distribution that has brought food to more than 22,700 households since the pandemic. But the work continues year-round. “Hunger is not just a holiday event,” Veronica says. “Hunger is every day.” 

Veronica is a native San Franciscan and grew up in the Bayview Hunters Point Neighborhood during the civil rights movement, and she carries that history with her. 

 “I know there’s strength in numbers,” she says. “Just like then, we’re working to make justice happen today.” She reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech to the Medical Committee for Human Rights, in which he stated, “injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman.” 

Veronica emphasizes that hunger is merely a symptom of a much deeper ailment.  

“If we don’t address the root cause of hunger, which is poverty,” she explains, “we are failing to confront the structural injustice that keeps our community in a cycle of need. Without addressing the underlying poverty, the cycle of inequity remains unbroken.” 

Looking Ahead 

The Food Bank works with 265 community partners across San Francisco and Marin to end hunger. The works of Shanell, Chester and Veronica reflect what that partnership looks like when antihunger efforts are led by those who know their community best. We are grateful to walk and work alongside them. 

Strength in Numbers: Meet Veronica

February 23, 2026

For Black History Month, the Food Bank is proud to spotlight a partner whose work aligns with our mission: ending hunger and creating a community free of its root causes, where everyone can access nutritious food of their choosing.

Ending hunger takes more than food. It takes trusted partners who authentically know their communities and show up for them week after week.

More than ten years ago, Veronica Shepard was with the San Francisco Department of Public Health when she and a colleague conducted food security screenings at Black churches across San Francisco. The results were stark: congregants were going hungry, and their pastors didn’t know.

“These pastors learned their own congregants were hungry and they were blown away by the results,” Veronica says. “Food is relative to everything. You can be unhoused, but you still got to have food.”
That discovery united faith leaders across the city. In 2016, Veronica formed the San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition, bringing together faith leaders from across denominations to address food insecurity. The coalition supports some of San Francisco’s most food-insecure populations: Black and African American, Pacific Islander, Latinx, and Middle Eastern and Black Muslim communities.

Each December, the coalition distributes food through Feeding 5,000, reaching more than 22,700 households since the pandemic began. But the work continues year-round. “Hunger is not just a holiday event,” Veronica says. “Hunger is every day.”

A native San Franciscan, Veronica grew up in Bayview Hunters Point during the civil rights movement and carries that history with her. “I know there’s strength in numbers,” she says. “Just like then, we’re working to make justice happen today.”
She reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech to the Medical Committee for Human Rights. In it, he stated: “Injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman.”

Veronica names hunger for what it really is: a symptom of deeper structural issues. “If we don’t address the root cause of hunger, which is poverty,” she explains, “we are failing to confront the structural injustice that keeps our community in a cycle of need. Without addressing the underlying poverty, the cycle of inequity remains unbroken.”

The Food Bank works with 265 community partners across San Francisco and Marin to end hunger. When communities lead, the work becomes real. That’s what we see in Veronica and the San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition. We’re grateful to walk alongside them.

Listening, Connecting, Supporting: Meet the Peer Navigators at Western Addition Community Market

January 22, 2026

Peter helps participants connect with housing assistance and other city resources.

Peter and Annette have been married for 37 years. Their biggest piece of advice? 

Listening. 

“Listening,” says Annette, “is key.” 

It’s also one of the keys to the couple’s success as Peer Navigators at the Western Addition Community Market, where they’ve spent the past three months getting to know participants and connecting them to resources that address the root causes of hunger. 

The couple has been volunteering with the Food Bank for four years, initially through their church, Cornerstone in the Mission. They live in the Castro but volunteer in Western Addition because they see the need across the city. When they saw the opportunity to become Peer Navigators, it felt like a natural next step. “The Community Market provides dignity — folks can come in and choose their items,” Peter says. “As Peer Navigators, we can offer something beyond food.”

Annette greets participants and connects them with supportive services.

A New Model for Food Access

Community Markets resemble grocery stores, where participants can shop for what they need, just like they would at a local market. Responding to community feedback, markets are open multiple days with extended hours, making it easier for people to access food at a time that fits their schedule. 

Last year, the Food Bank launched two Community Markets, supported the opening of a partner-run Community Market, and paved the way for more to open this year. Markets run by the Food Bank, like Western Addition, offer referrals and guidance from Peer Navigators, who use their lived experience to help neighbors find and access local services. 

“There are a lot of resources out there, but people don’t know where to find them,” Annette says. “Being a Peer Navigator means getting people the help they need. Attaching resources to food is huge.” 

Peter and Annette are just two of the Peer Navigators at Western Addition Community Market. 

Glenn went from policy advocacy with the FoodCARE Council to helping neighbors as a Peer Navigator.

From Policy Advocate to Peer Navigator 

Glenn first got involved with the Food Bank through the FoodCARE Council (Community Advocacy Resilience Equity Council), where people with lived experience of hunger learn to advocate for policy change. After working on systemic issues that impact the whole state, he saw the Peer Navigator program as another way to help at the neighborhood level. 

“San Francisco’s going through a difficult time right now,” he says, “and people are not aware of the resources available unless they sit down and talk to someone.” 

From Healthcare to Community Care 

Michael brings three decades of healthcare experience to connecting people with resources.

Michael brings three decades of healthcare administration experience to the work. He spent years helping patients navigate complicated medical systems at a large cardiology practice. When he read about the Peer Navigator program, he recognized the same challenge: people who don’t know what resources are available or how to access them. 

“A lot of people when they come in have one thing on their mind — to get the food and get back home,” he says. “But quite a few people will stop, take the time, and listen to what we have to offer.” 

Connecting Neighbors to Resources 

The Peer Navigator role takes research, quick thinking, and genuine listening. The team maintains contact lists with direct phone numbers for city resources, from utility assistance to job training programs. When someone only has a few minutes between shopping and catching the bus home, that preparation matters. 

“We take them inside, sit down, get on the phone to see what’s available,” Peter explains. 

Housing concerns come up frequently. Peter recalls helping someone whose name wasn’t on the lease. The landlord was trying to push them out. Peter and Annette sat down with them, wrote a letter on their behalf, and connected them with legal assistance. 

Meeting People Where They Are 

Not everyone who walks through the doors is ready to talk about needs beyond food. Annette recognizes the stigma some people carry about accessing support. But showing up consistently builds trust. 

“You’re not just talking to people, you’re encouraging them and supporting them,” Annette says. “Even if they don’t have interest right away, we encourage them to think about it for later or share with someone they know who might need it.” 

These connections are at the heart of the Community Market model. By pairing dignified food access with thoughtful, supportive services, the Food Bank is helping neighbors address not just hunger today, but the root causes that create it.  

When Pantries Closed, Presbyterian Church in Chinatown Opened Its Doors

December 3, 2025

Alma loves to cook for her husband, her daughters, and her neighbors. Sisig sizzling in the pan. Chicken congee, fragrant with fried garlic and spring onion. Tilapia steamed with tomatoes and garlic. 

“Sometimes I share with the manager of my apartment,” she laughs. “He said he likes [my cooking].” 

These days, making those meals takes more than culinary skills. It takes support. 

Alma retired to care for her husband, who’s on dialysis. Living on a limited income, she depends on the food pantry at Presbyterian Church in Chinatown (PCC), part of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s Neighborhood Food Network, for the nutritious food her husband needs to stay healthy.  

“This pantry is a very big help,” she says. “Food is so expensive now.” 

Alma is one of what will eventually be 350 neighbors served by this pantry at PCC. Her story shows exactly why opening it mattered so much, at a moment when hunger was deepening and help was disappearing.  

Neighbors Refuse to Let Neighbors Go Hungry 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food Bank launched Pop-Up Pantries across San Francisco and Marin in response to surging food insecurity. Alma went to the Stonestown Pop-Up during this time, grateful for a reliable food source while she was working but still struggling to make ends meet. 

But due to funding cuts, all Pop-Up Pantries closed last summer. Alma didn’t have anywhere to go. Volunteers lost their connection to community. Thousands of people in San Francisco and Marin lost their regular source of food. 

The Food Bank worked to expand capacity across its partner network and transfer as many participants as possible to neighborhood food pantries.  

Susie Wong, volunteer pantry supervisor, was already running two PCC food pantries: a Saturday senior pantry and a Thursday distribution at Cameron House. So, when Lesley Kraechan, an energetic, cheerful Lions Club volunteer from the North Beach Pop-Up, approached Susie about opening a third pantry, she thought they’d be stretched too thin. Then she realized the Pop-Up Pantry volunteers were eager to help.  

“These North Beach and Bessie Carmichael volunteers still wanted to work,” Susie recalled. “[Lesley and I] had like 50 people sign up, saying, ‘Please let me, I wanna help.'” 

Together, these volunteers opened the pantry less than two months after the Pop-Ups closed. Alma came to PCC to ask if she could get on the waitlist. Now, she’s grateful to pick up groceries even closer to home. 

Roots in the Community 

Susie has deep connections to Chinatown, which is why she still volunteers here despite living in the East Bay. She worked at Chinatown Community Development Center for 19 years building affordable housing. “I saw that these folks really lived with very little income,” she recalls. “A lot of them worked in the United States for decades, but they never got their Social Security because of under the table pay. They’re hardworking, but they’re struggling.” 

Like Susie, Lesley’s commitment to the pantry is rooted in her work serving the community. A physical therapist and member of PCC, Lesley started volunteering with the Food Bank during the pandemic. She works with women survivors of violence with chronic conditions and sees firsthand how poor nutrition contributes to their pain and illness. Leslie says she’s grateful that she can support the Food Bank’s mission to provide the fresh fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious food that can improve health and wellness. “If we can get healthy food to people, we can have a society of people that are healthier, happier, better,” she says. 

Nothing Goes to Waste 

With her fresh produce in hand from the pantry, Alma is already thinking about what she’ll cook next.  

“With what I get here, I can keep cooking for my family and not worry about wasting anything,” she says. 

For Alma, cooking is how she shows she cares. And with volunteers like Susie and Lesley stepping up alongside the Food Bank, this pantry ensures she’ll have the fresh, healthy food she needs to keep cooking for her family. For Alma, that’s where joy is: in the cooking, and in sharing what she makes. 

Older Truck Benefits the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank

October 23, 2025

When Jeni decided to donate her late husband’s red Ford Ranger to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, it wasn’t just about parting with a vehicle. It was about honoring his life in the community he cared about. 

“Shel grew up in Marin and loved the outdoors,” Jeni said. “Every summer he and his dad would head to the mountains to backpack into high-country lakes to fish. One of the best parts was packing his dad’s old truck with gear and heading out into an adventure.” 

After owning several other vehicles along the way, in 2000, Shel, then living in San Francisco, bought himself a new truck — a bright red Ford Ranger XLT he named El Trucko. From then on, the two went everywhere together: work trips, road trips throughout California, including to the Sierra for hiking, fishing, and photography adventures. 

In May 2024, Shel passed away, leaving his well-traveled (and well-loved) truck behind, having logged more than 143,000 miles together. Last fall, Jeni drove Shel and the truck to the Eastern Sierra for one last trip. When she returned, she parked El Trucko in the garage, wondering what to do with it that would honor Shel’s memory. 

She searched for environmental and conservation groups whose values aligned with Shel’s, but the donation process often seemed difficult to use. To make things easier, Jeni decided the gift should benefit a San Francisco organization they both admired. 

“The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank came to mind,” she said. “We always tried to support the mail carrier’s food drive every May and donate whenever we saw barrels at local businesses or churches. It seemed impossible that in such a wealthy city, people were going hungry.” 

Through the Food Bank’s website, Jeni found that donating a vehicle was straight forward and easy. After submitting the required information, she received a confirmation and soon after, a pickup date and time. A few weeks later, she learned that Shel’s truck had sold and that the proceeds were already helping provide fresh groceries for neighbors facing hunger. 

Vehicle donations help the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank turn unused cars, trucks, and other vehicles into funding for fresh, healthy food. Each donated vehicle is sold at auction, and the proceeds support programs across San Francisco and Marin — from neighborhood pantries to Community Markets. It’s an easy way for supporters to make a lasting difference.  

“For me, seeing El Trucko go on to help our neighbors feels like the right ending to this chapter of Shel’s story,” Jeni said. “I am delighted that even a 25-year-old truck can make a difference. That feels like something Shel would be proud of.” 

Donating your vehicle will help the Food Bank provide healthy groceries for neighbors in need.  Learn more.

Chris on Doubling His Impact Through Workplace Giving

October 9, 2025

When the pandemic hit, Chris and his wife, Stephanie, could not stop thinking about their neighbors. How would people get by when so much of daily life had been upended, suddenly struggling to make ends meet? 

“In the early days of the pandemic, our first thought was that there will be many people in our community who might not be able to meet their most basic needs and certainly food is one of those,” Chris said. “We wanted our support to reach people quickly and reliably, and the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank was the best way to do that.” 

That reliability mattered because Chris knew one thing for certain: without food, nothing else is possible. “It’s foundational,” he said. “When people know they’ll eat, everything else — school, work, caring for yourself and your family — gets easier. Investing in food is investing in dignity and opportunity. We all live in this community together and collectively we have a vested interest in the strength of its members.” 

Why Food Security Matters 

Chris knows from personal experience that food insecurity puts tremendous strain on families. “There were times in my life as a child where our family just barely had enough for the basics,” he shared. “It puts a tremendous amount of stress on the family.” 

Seeing the Food Bank step up during the pandemic, along with his own memories of growing up, convinced Chris to donate regularly. He was also drawn to the Food Bank’s ability to make gifts go further, turning every dollar into enough food for two meals. 

On top of that, Chris discovered he could stretch his donations even further through his employer’s matching gift program. “Most large employers offer matching gifts for charitable donations,” Chris said. “In my case the company was good at informing employees of our giving options, including matching gifts. The process was simple, I submitted an online request with proof of my donation and within a few weeks, a matching gift was processed.” 

That simple step made a big difference. “It’s the simplest multiplier I know,” Chris said. “Taking the time to fill out a form turns one gift into two. In the case of the Food Bank, that translates directly into more groceries for more people right away.” 

Encouraging Others to Act 

Chris hopes more people will take advantage of workplace giving, because he has seen how much it can multiply the impact of a single gift. A few minutes spent submitting a form to your employer can mean twice as many meals for a neighbor in need. 

 “It all helps,” he said. “What you may consider small may be the difference between a child, a senior, or any person having something to eat in a day or nothing at all. We live in a community that’s blessed with large amounts of resources, but it’s important to remember that not everyone has access to the same benefits, and they can use your help. Give to what you care about. For us, it’s food security because it impacts a most basic human need.”