Just in time for the holidays, Foster Farms donated thousands of pounds of turkeys to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank on Monday.
The poultry producers donated enough turkeys to feed 10,000 people. San Francisco-Marin Food Bank Executive Director Tanis Crosby said the birds are badly needed.
"Well its been a big year," Crosby told KCBS Radio. "We're serving more people now more than ever before, up to 50,000-plus households each and every week."
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the food bank served 30,000 families a week. Demand is so high the food banks is constructing a 32,000 square-foot addition to its warehouse, which will allow it to increase its loading base by 50%.
"It's a critical time. We have more people turning to the food bank more than we have ever seen," she said. "So, at this moment, with the holidays just around the corner, knowing that we can count on the donations of good folks, like Foster Farms providing us 8,000 pounds of turkeys to share with our neighbors, it has a lot of meaning."
Ira Brill, Vice President of Communications for Foster Farms, said the company donates poultry up and down the West Coast. Food banks are stressed throughout the region.
"The reality of it is, a lot of these supply chain problems which are affecting all industries are also affecting the food banks," Brill said. "The food banks also got a fair amount of assistance from the USDA as a part of pandemic relief, but that is ending."
Crosby added that food supplies are broadly distributed to over 300 community organizations.
The San Francisco-Marin food bank currently looking for volunteers for its San Francisco and San Rafael locations. You can learn more about volunteering here.