Many in Santa Clara, San Mateo counties at risk of hunger
For many of us, the holidays are a time for festive gatherings, family traditions and an overabundance of food.
For me, the holidays are also a little bittersweet. That’s because I’ve worked in food-banking for the last 19 years, and I’ve seen firsthand how some families struggle to put food on the table during the holidays — and all year long. But this year, my first holiday season as CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, I’m feeling the enormity of local hunger like never before.
Second Harvest recently commissioned a study that for the first time gives us a more accurate view of who is hungry in Silicon Valley, and the number is alarming. Nearly 27 percent of those living in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties are at risk for hunger — almost 720,000 people.
That means that even though Second Harvest is serving a record number of people — an average of more than 257,000 every month — we still aren’t reaching everyone who needs food.
The study was a big undertaking made possible by a private donor. Unlike prior estimates of local hunger, this study reflects the impact of housing costs. We all know that the skyrocketing cost of housing is making it difficult for even hardworking families to live here. Now we have a better picture of how it is impacting hunger, and it’s troubling.
The fact that so many kids, families and seniors are going hungry doesn’t bode well for our community. Nutritious food is the foundation for a healthy, productive life. Kids who don’t have regular access to healthy food often struggle at school and suffer lifelong consequences.
Adults who go without nutritious food — often so their kids can eat — are at higher risk for diet-related diseases like diabetes. Seniors who don’t get enough food can become malnourished. Food is at the core of many key issues in our community, including education and health care. That’s why hunger needs a seat at the table when we talk about these and other critical issues like housing.
As the number of people who need food has continued to grow, Second Harvest has streamlined our processes and enhanced our operations to provide more food to the community. Over the past 10 years, we have more than doubled the number of meals we provide every week. This year, we launched a $5 million capital improvement project at our Curtner Center in San Jose, which will enable us to grow our distribution capacity by 30 percent.
But these and other efforts we’ve undertaken to distribute more food aren’t enough to tackle the growing problem of hunger. It’s just too big. Not only is Second Harvest serving more people than ever before, we now know there are about 450,000 more people in Silicon Valley who are at risk for hunger but not currently accessing food.
That’s why we are exploring new and innovative ways to get more nutritious food into the hands of those who need it. We are working with our 300 nonprofit partner agencies and collaborating with other community and government organizations to connect more people to food. But we need your help.
I am a firm believer that hunger is solvable if we all work together. This holiday season, I’m asking everyone to join the movement to end local hunger by volunteering or donating to an organization that feeds the hungry.
Hunger is hurting our community. If we truly want Silicon Valley to be a place where anything is possible, we need to make sure everyone has the nutritious food they need to stay healthy and thrive.