San Francisco-Marin Food Bank

Pantry programs:2,734,995 individuals served.ongoing pantry programs:the Food Bank has a variety of ongoing Food pantry programs designed to provide a lifeline for people who need help. The pantries provide Food to low-income seniors, families, children and other individuals, enabling them to plan and prepare meals in their own homes, an essential aspect of promoting good health, normalcy and dignity. Relying largely on the support of grants and contributions, the Food Bank operates the following types of pantries:(program description continues in schedule o)- healthy children pantries - this program combats child hunger by distributing nutritious foods every week in family-friendly environments such as public schools, childcare centers, parenting support centers and other child-focused locations. Limited Food Bank capacity and resources due to continuation of pandemic-initiated programming prevented the Food Bank from supporting most of these pantries through june 2023.- senior pantries and home-delivered groceries - these programs enable the Food Bank to help low-income seniors and adults with disabilities secure immediate access to nutritious Food. The Food Bank provides weekly groceries to thousands of older adults struggling to maintain their health and independence.- neighborhood pantries - the Food Bank established a network of weekly pantries to serve economically distressed communities and reach target populations in need of Food assistance. The immigrant Food assistance pantries initiative focuses on low-income immigrants struggling with language and cultural barriers. The community Food partners pantries distribute Food to families living in public housing developments. The supportive housing pantries distribute easily prepared fresh and packaged products to formerly homeless individuals living in permanent housing with supportive services. The neighborhood grocery network pantries distributes supplemental weekly groceries to working poor families and low-income individuals.- college pantries - in 2017, the Food Bank partnered with San Francisco state university and college of marin to connect low-income students with healthy Food and calfresh on campus. In 2018, it expanded to ucsf, city college of San Francisco, and dominican college (marin). By providing weekly on-campus access, eligible students can pick-up free, fresh produce and other groceries and return to the hard work of pursuing their education. Reduced on-campus activity and limited Food Bank capacity and resources due to pandemic-initiated programming prevented the Food Bank from supporting some of these pantries through june 2023.

Supplemental Food program for seniors: this program provides a monthly box of nutritious usda Food to more than 9,700 low-income senior citizens.

Agency distribution shopping program: more than 225 of the Food Bank's member agencies, including community centers, religious organizations, soup kitchens, shelters, affordable housing, senior programs, aids support programs and childcare centers, visit the warehouse on a regular basis to select bread, dry goods, meat and fresh produce for their clients.

Advocacy and education: Food Bank advocacy efforts include optimizing under-utilized government Food assistance programs (e.g., calfresh, the state's Food stamp program, and San Francisco's public school meals program), eliminating bureaucracy and red tape that prevents low-income individuals from receiving assistance, improving program quality and participation, and offering recommendations to elected officials and community leaders to reduce barriers to Food for low-income residents of San Francisco and marin. The Food Bank's advocacy efforts, in collaboration with coalition partners, have resulted in reducing Food insecurity. Here's some of what's included from our anti-poverty and anti-hunger agenda signed by the governor in this year's budget cycle:- calfood: secured $60 million in continued funding for Food banks statewide to buy ca-grown Food- calfresh minimum nutrition benefit pilot: $15 million and funding for automation to pilot increasing the calfresh minimum to $50 million.- school meals for all: new investments to fully implement and ensure free school meals for all kids.- food4all: $40 million for an accelerated implementation of immigrant Food benefits to start in october 2025 instead of january 2027.- ssi/ssp: grant increase of 8.6%, effective january 2024 to increase incomes of older adults and people with disabilities- calworks: grant increase effective october 2023 for families with kids experiencing povertyin addition, the Food Bank's advocacy and education programs raise public awareness about the problem of hunger, help mobilize support for government programs and policies that provide adequate nutrition for low-income people, and inform and assist low-income households to apply for calfresh. The Food Bank continues to work alongside trusted community partners to address both the consequences and causes of hunger in different communities through policy change, advocacy, and amplifying leadership within those communities.