Due to COVID-19, the Food Bank is facing an unprecedented challenge to support our neighbors who were already receiving assistance from the Food Bank as well as those who now find themselves facing hunger as a result of lost hours, wages, or jobs.

Learn more in our COVID-19 Hunger Report.

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On Monday, March 16, 2020, food banks were officially named by the California Department of Public Health as essential service providers, similar to a grocery store. Now, more than ever, our continued efforts are critical to ensuring that those with limited financial resources get access to the food they need to weather the pandemic. We have ramped up those efforts to overcome growing barriers to food access.

Launching Pop-up food pantries

In order to meet the dramatic need, we opened Pop-up pantries across San Francisco and Marin to accommodate large numbers of people who have lost access to food due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them are serving about 10 times more people than our regular pantries. Where possible we are implementing a drive-thru model to help facilitate social distancing.

Supporting existing pantries

We are working closely with our pantry partners to help keep as many pantries open as possible so they can continue to serve participants. For pantries that initially had to close, we are supporting reopening if it can be done safely and where we have the resources to fully support the pantry partner.

Home-delivering to the most vulnerable

Low-income seniors are often the most vulnerable to food insecurity, and now they are facing even more challenges given the health risks they face due to COVID-19. Many of our senior participants are sheltering in place and no longer have access to their weekly pantries. Together with partners and Food Bank volunteers, we have ramped up our home-delivery program to provide groceries. At the height of the pandemic, we home-delivered to 12,000 homebound seniors.

Focusing on safety

The health, safety, and well-being of our employees, volunteers, partners, and participants is a top priority. By following all CDC guidelines, cleaning, practicing social distancing, and wearing face masks, our goal is to maintain safe practices that will reduce the risk of virus transmission while avoiding the disruption of this essential service for the community. We are closely monitoring the situation and reevaluating our safety protocols daily.

FAQ

Q: How is COVID-19 impacting food distribution?

So far, about a third of our 275 pantries have temporarily closed for a variety of safety-based reasons. To ensure our participants did not lose access to food, and that we could meet the need of new participants, we raced to open new pop-up pantries that are anywhere from 5–10 times the size of our average weekly pantry. We have also ramped up our home-delivery grocery program to reach seniors sheltering in place. 

To protect the health of our volunteers and staff, we have made changes to our warehouse volunteer program. For example, we have reduced the number of volunteers at each shift and stopped non-essential projects.  Right now we are only packing senior boxes, grocery bags for delivery to homebound neighbors, and doing some sorting of food donations. 

Q: When will you cancel the food distribution?

We’ll continue to carry out our mission as long as it’s safe for our staff. Access to nutritious food is essential to maintaining good health, and it’s more important than ever to reach people in need during times of crisis.

Q: What are you doing to ensure the health and safety of your staff, volunteers, and participants?

We are in close contact with the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and are following their recommendations. In response to the COVID-19 situation, we have reduced the number of volunteers at each shift and are conducting shifts outside when possible. We have doubled down on cleaning and handwashing—and, of course, hand sanitizer and disinfectant are readily available. Volunteers and staff wear face masks, use gloves, and practice social distancing per CDC guidelines. At the pantries, our volunteers help bag the food to speed up the lines and help create as much space as possible between participants and volunteers. All of our staff who can conduct their work from home are doing so.

Q: Do you anticipate needing to feed more participants?

The dramatic increase in lost wages, hours, and jobs as a result of the shelter-in-place order means that there are significantly more people in need of our help. As of today, we are serving 28,000 more households than before the pandemic. Additionally, in our experience during past economic downturns, we expect to see increased levels of need for food even after the shelter in place orders are lifted as people are slowly able to regain employment and restabilize their family’s financial situation.

Q: How can I get help?

If you are in need of food assistance, click here