Opinion: Federal Cuts Are Coming. Alameda Families Need Us Now.

Although it’s been just short of a year since the “Big Beautiful Bill” was enacted, many cuts it made to the safety net are just now being phased in.

On the first of April, non-citizens lost eligibility for food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As a result, some of our friends and neighbors here in Alameda will no longer have access to CalFresh benefits, the state’s version of SNAP.

Another provision of the bill, which goes into effect June 1, would broaden the definition of an able-bodied adult without dependents, decrease the age of eligible dependents, and broaden the age range in which work requirements are necessary to remain eligible for SNAP and thus CalFresh. These two changes will result in a significant number of people losing access to CalFresh benefits, which will make it harder for them to keep themselves and their families fed—especially as food prices continue to rise. This in turn will significantly increase demand at our Island Community Market.

Despite the fact that we already are serving a record-breaking number of people—987 families in one day last December and nearly 1,600 families each week in 2026—we’re redoubling our efforts to be sure that everyone in Alameda who needs our help knows how to get it.

We work with a number of different organizations in Alameda to help connect people in need with our services:

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• We visit a number of the Alameda Housing Authority residential sites for low-income families and older adults every other week, providing onsite food distribution as well as information about how to receive groceries from our Island Community Market. All new residents receive a welcome packet from us explaining how to use our services.
• We routinely conduct tours of our Island Community Market for the staff of the City of Alameda and other organizations assisting our unsheltered neighbors, providing them with information they can pass along to their clients and giving them water and snacks for the people they encounter. We also work with the City’s Social Service Human Relations Board in their efforts to address needs for low-income residents, seniors and youth.
• We partner with Title I low-income schools in the Alameda Unified School District and the Academy of Alameda charter school to provide snacks while at school. In addition, we also assist the All Good Living Foundation Community Closet program by providing food and other essentials students and their families can take home. All students, families, and school staff qualify and are provided the necessary information to shop our Island Community Market.
• At Alameda’s Dignity Village for unhoused people, we work with on-site case managers to connect residents with our services and will do so again at the Day Center (previously known as Village of Love) when it reopens later this month.
• We provide the ingredients for Alameda’s All Faiths Coalition Dine and Connect program to prepare meals for unsheltered people and those at the Warming Shelter at Christ Episcopal Church.
• Since our new facility is right next door to the Alameda Family Services preschool, we’ve partnered with them on an upcoming diaper distribution program and provide their staff with information about our services to better serve their families. We also partner with another of our neighbors, the Alameda Point Collaborative, to provide information about our services to their residents.
• Meals on Wheels clients receive information about the Island Community Market as well as information about how to arrange home delivery.
• We cross promote our services with Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter, which has its own free pet food pantry.

Despite all these efforts, we know that there are still people who are unaware of our services or uncomfortable with the idea of visiting a food bank. That’s where you come in: Whenever you see someone struggling after a job loss, a neighbor without shelter, or a friend struggling to afford the expense of living in the Bay Area, let them know they can get help at Alameda Food Bank Island Community Market. Information about how to access services is available at Get Food – Alameda Food Bank. If you stop by our facility at 677 West Ranger Avenue, we can give you a supply of business cards with essential information to hand out to people who need our help.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to feed a hungry family. With all of us working together, we can ensure that nobody goes hungry in Alameda.

Teale Harden is Executive Director of the Alameda Food Bank.