7 area food banks get $2.2.M

Several Bay Area food banks are receiving financial help from a San Francisco charitable foundation at a moment when food insecurity has spiked and food banks say they’re seeing high demand.

The Koret Foundation is giving $2.2 million to seven food banks and programs that address food insecurity in the region, said Ashley Rodwick, a senior program officer at the foundation. Koret has provided grants to food banks for decades.

“There’s sort of this false impression that the pandemic is over, but food security is very important,” Rodwick said. “We just thought it was important to bring this issue to the forefront of people’s minds right now because this really remains a challenge.”

Bay Area food banks and pantries said they have seen a dramatic spike in people lining up for free food since the end of the emergency allotments that CalFresh recipients had been receiving since the start of the pandemic. Many food banks continue to struggle financially, and some have had to cut back services. One pantry in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood closed in February due to a lack of money.

The seven food banks and programs receiving funding are Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, SFMarin Food Bank, the TriRegional Jewish Community Food Program, Meals on Wheels of SF, Glide Foundation, St. Anthony Foundation and Alameda County Community Food Bank.

“Koret makes it a priority to be responsive to our most pressing needs and ensures their grants are meaningfully impactful to our mission,” Michael Altfest, director of community engagement at Alameda County Community Food Bank, said in an email.

Leslie Bacho, CEO of Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, said the grant will allow it to continue providing food to the nearly 17% of people in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties who turn to the food bank for help.

“Bay Area food banks are there to help fill that gap, but they are donationdriven and volunteer-dependent. That’s why Koret Foundation’s support is so critical,” Bacho said in a statement.