Tag: inflation

Finding Joy with Ms. Chang

February 28, 2024

As rain drizzled down on an early Saturday morning at Florence Fang Community Garden (FFCF), Ms. Chang finished loading up her cart with groceries and beckoned us over to view her most recent crop: a bountiful patch of cauliflower! Each plant boasted a still-growing cauliflower head, already larger than an outstretched hand.  

Ms. Chang is an eight-year volunteer and five-year food pantry participant at FFCF, a Food Bank partner and beautiful one-acre community center located in Bayview-Hunters Point. “It’s a really diverse space, with all kinds of people,” Ms. Chang told us. “I live in Hunters Point, so I walk here. My motivation to come out was that I’m retired, and now I have free time! This is an opportunity to find some joy, and it’s just really fun to socialize.”  

Return of the Food Pantry 

It’s not only social hour at the farm: Ms. Chang, along with around 15-20% of other farm volunteers, stops by FFCF’s Saturday morning food pantry before beginning her farm workday. Though it was forced to close because of pandemic precautions, the pantry reopened with the support of the Food Bank back in February of 2023.  

Now, FFCF provides pantry essentials and fresh produce each week to mainly Chinese elders. It’s a much-needed service, especially as high prices persist and safety net programs are rolled back – because neighbors like Ms. Chang and her eldest daughter, whom she lives with, are already feeling the impacts. 

Ms. Chang shared her experience: “I have CalFresh, it helps me with getting groceries. It was definitely easier during the pandemic with their extra funding [emergency allotments]. But it barely holds me over now. I cope by just not buying as much – I have retirement (SSI) too, so I’m not completely depleted. It does feel like not enough sometimes, though.” 

Saturday (Farm)er’s Market 

Neighborhood pantries like FFCF help fill the gap with fresh, healthy food for thousands of neighbors across San Francisco and Marin who are facing similar difficulties. On the Saturday we visited, volunteers laid out items like rice, bok choy, beets, carrots and celery farmer’s market-style, so each participant could take or decline items as they wished. 

“It’s great to see all of the offerings and get to choose what I want to bring home. I tend to like everything, though,” Ms. Chang told us. “With today’s offerings, I’d throw together the carrots, celery, bok choy, throw some sort of meat in and make a lovely soup. It is great for bringing down inflammation in the body!” 

A Joyful Space 

Upon immigrating to San Francisco from Guangzhou, China in the 80s, Ms. Chang worked as a sewist in San Francisco Chinatown’s garment factories. Now retired, the farm offers a different, more enjoyable kind of work: “I get to do some work on the farm, grow green vegetables and romaine lettuce. I grow really big winter melons. It isn’t too strenuous, and we get to pick whatever jobs we want. Plus, I like the exercise!”  

As we talk, she helps another volunteer carry a basket of recent harvests up the hill, where they’ll be divided among the volunteers – “we all get to share our harvests with one another,” explained Ms. Chang. That’s not all they share, because food and fun go hand in hand at FFCF. Typically, Ms. Chang will volunteer with her two younger sisters, but her daughter and grandchildren also stop by occasionally: “There’s a lot of events and activities at the farm, and my family enjoys coming to these events. We throw parties, sing, dance, everything. You’ll have to come visit us when we put on talent shows!” 

After marveling at the beauty and vibrancy of the farm and learning what Ms. Chang is planting for spring (tong ho and yao choy!), we finally wave goodbye. The rain has stopped, the sun is beginning to peek out, and Ms. Chang heads back to her fellow volunteers. From the smile on her face, it’s safe to say that FFCF has built not only a flourishing farm or food pantry, but a true community on this plot of land.  

As Ms. Chang put it so succinctly: “I have a lot of friends here. Being here makes me happy.”  

Ming’s Story: “We Make Enough for All”

December 1, 2023

Peering in through the windows of a Cantonese barbeque spot in the Richmond district, your gaze meets a line of roast duck, dripping fatty juices onto pans of stir-fried noodles, vegetables, and roast pork Rows of ducks hang above trays of stir fried noodles, meats, and more.below. Next door, another restaurant dishes up steaming, juicy xiao long bao. 

These two restaurants are where Food Bank pantry participant Ming has worked for the past 10 years – first as a cook, now as kitchen manager of both operations. Though her job has steady hours, and she’s able to eat shift meals at work, inflation is still taking a toll on her household budget: “Groceries are really expensive,” she shared. “But even though it’s hard, I still have to support my three daughters.” 

That’s why her local food pantry makes all the difference. 

Pantry Ingredients Save More than Money 

Ming first learned about the Roosevelt Pop-up Pantry from a friend in 2020, when the pandemic shutSu Ming taking her lunch break from work down restaurants all over the Bay Area and put her and thousands of others out of work. As a single parent raising a high schooler, putting another daughter through college, and helping support her eldest daughter at the time, Ming needed some support of her own. Ever since, these weekly groceries from the pantry near her work have remained a crucial time- and money-saver for this busy mom.

“What I get here is easily enough for a few days, sometimes a week — it depends on what there is. I’m really grateful, but I have to be strategic,” Ming told us. Thousands of neighbors are performing this mental math each week, stretching their groceries out to cover as many meals as possible.  

Our survey of more than 9,000 Food Bank participants showed that single parent households like Ming’s are among those hit the hardest — 69% could not afford a $400 emergency expense, and 88% were worried about running out of food. And with the holiday season and family gatherings in full swing, the pressure to afford special ingredients on top of the essentials can be daunting. 

Holidays Taste Like Mom’s Cooking 

Even though year over year inflation has slowed, the cost of a holiday meal is still 13% higher compared to 2021. It’s no wonder why more than 50,000 households rely on groceries from the Food Bank as the base for their celebratory meals.  

For Ming, the holidays are all about reconnecting with her three daughters — and for her family, much of that connection happens through food. She says her older daughters head home for the holidays with one thing in mind: a home-cooked meal. 

“‘What tastes best is Mom’s cooking!’” Ming laughed, mimicking her daughters. “I make whatever they feel like. I make a soup with carrots, tofu, bean curd sheets, shiitake mushrooms, pork — it’s my daughters’ favorite.”  

Food Brings Joy Year-Round 

As the pantry is winding down for the day, Ming darts back into the restaurant and emerges with massive trays of stir-fried noodles and vegetables, braised pork, and fried rice. Food Bank staff and someFood Bank Community Coordinator Marcel and Su Ming are all smiles for lunch volunteers make their way over, dishing up portions buffet-style and gathering around the foldout table. Turns out, it’s not only Ming’s family that she’s bringing together over food. 

“I asked our chef to cook these dishes for the pantry staff – they like eating it,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “Our staff have to eat lunch too. We make enough for all of us, and then we can have lunch together.” 

As folks sit around laughing, chatting and eating in the sunshine, it’s clear this lunch tradition has morphed into something beyond a quick break from work. These meals are a weekly chance to slow down, connect, and be in community with others. And whether for a special occasion or a regular Tuesday afternoon, any day is a great day to share the joy of good food.  

 

 

Paying a High Price: Inflation Impacts

June 2, 2022

On a hot Wednesday afternoon in May, Victoria arrived at Rosa Parks Pop-up Pantry to pick up groceries like a gallon of milk, white mushrooms, and green onions for the older gentleman she provides home care for. She carried the bags out to the sidewalk and then paused to chat for a few minutes, shielding her face from the sun and setting down her heavy groceries. We learned she’s lived in San Francisco for Victoria holds up her milk and grocery bagthe past 40 years, and understandably, she’s seen the city change a lot in her time here. “When I came here [in the 80s], you could buy a thousand wonders for $50. You could fill the refrigerator for at least a month [for $50]. Now, everything is so expensive. There are times when there’s not enough to buy food. It’s terrible.”  

Working as a gardener and caretaker for seniors, San Francisco has been her home – the place where she says, with a twinkle in her eye, she has lived her “most beautiful life.” But while Victoria has seen SF through its fair share of economic ups and downs over the decades, including high inflation in the 80s, the current climate is unlike anything she’s seen before. These days, she’s trying to focus on the fact that “I’m okay, and the gentleman I take care of is okay – that’s what gives me peace.” 

With grocery prices up 10% in the SF metro area, and gas prices soaring alongside them (up 43% compared to this time last year), the Food Bank is a lifeline for our community in this particularly challenging time.  

Shrinking Savings 

Like Victoria, many folks are worried. Every week we speak with community members like Arnoldo, who echo this feeling of constantly falling behind. Arnoldo has been coming to Cesar Chavez Pop-up Pantry ever since his small package delivery business in the Mission was forced to close during the pandemic. Without the income from his business, Arnoldo is left looking for work as a painter and scraping together what he can. He rents a room from a friend, but even sharing a space is expensive.  

“Right now I don’t have a job, and all my bills are so high. The little savings I had, went straight to rent,” he said, shaking his head.  

Impossible Choices 

Sharon lives just a short walk from Rosa Parks Pop-up Pantry, and the groceries she picks up have been a huge help – she even told her friend Clifton about it, and now they come to the pantry together. But that doesn’t mean it’s erased the rest of her worries, especially operating on a fixed budget due to her disability income.  

“We’re forced to make choices, you know? I literally don’t go grocery shopping. I can’t afford to. I’m caught, stuck between the choice of paying my housing and utility costs and purchasing food. So, I literally gave up on purchasing food, and without the Food Bank…” she trailed off, but the implication is obvious.  

“Really Rough Right Now” 

For Anna, sticker shock is just another worry on top of caregiving and supporting her parents, who are both disabled. Her dad needs 24/7 care, but hiring a full-time caregiver is financially out of reach. “My parents only get Social Security, and it isn’t enough, so I have to help them with rent,” she said. RightAnna holds her groceries in front of the park now, Anna is working anywhere from six to seven days a week as a nurse at Highland Hospital, and teaching UCSF nursing students as well. She stops by Cesar Chavez Pop-up Pantry to pick up food for her parents on her one day off.  

She leaned against the fence for a little support, watching kids play in the park next to the pantry while telling us about her situation. “It’s really rough right now. Everything is going up in price. It’s affecting me too, because I have to pay my own rent, my own food, the car and insurance – everything is going up in price now. I went to the store and the prices are crazy.”  

Take Action  

If you’re wondering why we’re still seeing so many folks at our pantries, two years into the pandemic – this is your answer. The pandemic has exacerbated issues that were already present – a housing/homelessness crisis, a cost of living that outpaces wages, the highest income inequality in the nation – and introduced new ones, like lingering isolation and mental health impacts from shelter-in-place. 

That’s why we must keep pushing for comprehensive social safety nets that ensure the safety, dignity, and health and well-being of all in our community.  

Reality Check 

Over the course of our conversation, Anna grew reflective. She explained that growing up in Ukraine, she held an idealized image of life in the US – one that dissolved almost immediately when she moved to San Francisco in ‘95.  

“I think before [my family] moved here, we thought a little differently about this country. Once we got here….it’s not as easy to live here as people think it is. When they show the US back home, it [seems] so glamorous, like money comes from the trees. When people move here, it’s a very different story.” 

We owe it to our neighbors and ourselves to contend with that reality. Volunteer. Advocate. Donate.