The Food Bank is committed to serving all who need it with dignity and respect. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on how we carry out our mission. Before the pandemic, one in five neighbors was at risk of hunger. Now, we are seeing a sustained increase in need – more than 50,000 households turn to us each week, up from 32,000 pre-pandemic, and traffic to our online Food Locator has quadrupled. Though many of us are slowly returning to normalcy, the numbers are clear: there is no vaccine for hunger. It will take time for those most impacted by the crisis to get back on their feet.
Children, seniors, low-wage earners, and the unemployed make up the majority of those struggling with hunger. Children and people of color have been disproportionately impacted by rising hunger throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The Food Bank now distributes enough food for more than 155,000 meals each day, up from 110,000 pre-pandemic. That’s more than 56 million meals this year, compared to 40 million in 2019.
During an average week, our programs now serve more than 50,000 households, an over 50% increase from the 32,000 served pre-pandemic.
In total, the Food Bank provided food to 235,000 people this year, up from 205,000 prior to the pandemic.
The San Francisco and Marin Food Banks will distribute 68 million pounds of food this year, up from 48 million pounds in 2019. More than 60 percent is farm-fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Food Bank provides food to a network of 354 food programs in San Francisco and Marin counties, including agencies such as St. Anthony’s, Glide, Project Open Hand, and St. Vincent de Paul.
Included in that network of 354 partners are the Food Bank’s 240 food pantries, where clients can select fresh produce, pantry staples, and protein to cook at home.
Fresh produce makes up two-thirds of the food the Food Banks distributes to pantries.
Menus change weekly and seasonally, but a pantry menu in August included plums, cauliflower, red bell peppers, onions, carrots, bananas, potatoes, peanut butter, chicken, rice, and beans.
In 2020, individuals made up the largest block of donations to the Food Bank, contributing over 50% of our funding. Foundations were the next largest source of donations at 18%, followed by corporations at 16% and government grants at 14%. The remainder of our funding came from miscellaneous sources.
Due to the scale and efficiency of the Food Bank’s operations, the organization is able to turn every $1 donation into two meals for our neighbors. The Food Bank makes individual dollars go further through bulk purchasing, sourcing food for pennies on the pound, and volunteer warehouse support.
In 2020, more than 32,000 volunteers sorted and repacked food, breaking it down into family-size portions.
Last year, individuals and groups provided more than 85,000 hours of volunteer work – equivalent to the work of 40 full-time employees.
