Thousands of San Franciscans rolled up their sleeves on Saturday, July 11, for One City Day, a citywide day of service created by Mayor Daniel Lurie and First Lady Becca Prowda. Volunteers spread out across all 11 districts, and about 100 of them came to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s warehouse on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Chris Padula, the Food Bank’s Chief Philanthropy and Engagement Officer, welcomed the Saturday morning crew.
“We greatly appreciate Mayor Lurie and First Lady Becca Prowda’s leadership on this citywide day of service,” Padula said. “Volunteerism is critical to our mission. It powers shared responsibility, builds connections between neighbors, and helps ensure people across our community can access the food they need. Days like One City Day remind us that meeting this challenge requires all of us working together.”
Volunteers power the Food Bank’s entire operation year-round. They sort the produce, pack the bags and staff the pantries. Every week, that work moves food to more than 200 community food sites.
That work matters right now. New federal rules are pushing thousands of San Franciscans off CalFresh, California’s version of SNAP. When benefits stop, neighbors turn to those sites — and the volunteers who keep them running.
For P.J. Campmalik, who volunteered with the Junior League of San Francisco, the day reflected a shared commitment to community.
“We are a group of women trying to empower other women, and part of our mission is to help and volunteer across the city,” Campmalik said. “The Food Bank is important to everybody and helps feed the community through its mission.”
Brendan Wood came with 15 friends from college.
“I have an appreciation for both the scale of the need in our community and what this Food Bank does,” Wood said. “It’s both impressive and sad at the same time that there’s so much need, and that definitely makes me want to help more.”
Alexandra Stieglitz sorted citrus alongside an enthusiastic five-year-old.
“We’ve been explaining to my daughter, sometimes you work for money, and sometimes you work because you want to help people,” Stieglitz said. “And because she’s only five, this helps bring it to life for her in a way that just using words isn’t gonna land.”
With volunteers recently tackling graffiti in his own neighborhood, eleven-year-old Merrill Corcoran wanted to pass it on, and joined his mother Deirdre and father John, to tackle the need for food.
“I think [One City Day] is a good idea because it kind of brings people together,” Merrill said. “I think it’s interesting to help people who you don’t know, but you know that they need food. So, you want to help someone get food, even if they can’t get it on their own.”
Together, volunteers sorted about 45,000 pounds of oranges headed to pantries and participants across San Francisco and Marin.
“It was a really great day, with people coming out for the first time to support the Food Bank, along with our dedicated Saturday volunteers,” said Katy Mann, Senior Director of Community Engagement at the Food Bank. “There were lots of smiles, laughter and people were grooving to music from the DJ, breaking out some signature dance moves, all while sorting pallets of fresh oranges.”
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