The power of community-based food assistance
When most people think about Alameda Food Bank (AFB), they think about our Island Community Market. After all, it is our largest program, serving almost 7,500 individuals who together make 50,000 visits per year. However, fewer people are aware of our efforts to meet community members in need of our support outside of our marketplace. It’s through this broader community engagement that we ensure no one goes hungry, even as challenges arise. Our work is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves the connection and security a meal can provide, no matter their circumstances.
These programs expand the reach of our Island Community Market as they ensure that our most vulnerable neighbors — seniors, children, and the unhoused — have access to essential nutrition, by meeting them where they are. For starters, we bring food to those who cannot come to us, making as many as 90 deliveries in a single month to 35 homebound individuals who depend on us.
We work closely with Alameda Housing Authority at two locations that serve 175 seniors, where we distribute about six tons of food annually. But it’s not just those who are homebound that benefit from our programs. Our partnerships with Alameda schools and community organizations such as All Good Living Foundation bring nutritious food directly to children, ensuring they can focus on their future, not on hunger. Our snack and Community Closet programs distribute about 10,000 pounds of food annually to children to ensure they are able to reach their full potential.
AFB also supports a number of community organizations that assist our unhoused neighbors. We partner with Dine & Connect, and provide food for their weekly dinners for our unsheltered community members. Last year, this initiative served over 6,500 meals. Our food assistance reaches farther with contributions to Alameda’s winter warming shelter, the Village of Love drop-in center, safe parking programs for houseless individuals, and the shower program at Christ Episcopal Church.
We partner with local grocery stores to reduce food waste by picking up fresh but unsold food to distribute to our families. Our food recovery volunteers log 8,000 miles a year, recovering more than 600,000 pounds of food that would otherwise go to landfills, helping our local grocery stores meet their state-mandated goals for diverting surplus food.
This work would not be possible without the engagement of our incredible volunteers, including retirees, high school students volunteering for school credits, and corporate partnerships that help build strong, empathetic corporate cultures. Our 600+ volunteers log thousands of hours a month and we hosted more than 200 corporate volunteers as part of their community engagement programs. Each individual who spends even one hour working with AFB contributes to the welcoming, diverse environment that we strive for.
In all, we directly help 10% of Alameda keep enough food on the table. By bringing food to people where they live and attend school, we get one step closer to ensuring that nobody in need goes unserved. Our Island Community Market may get most of the attention, but our work goes beyond those four walls. Whether we are stocking fresh produce at Island Community Market, driving a van full of donated food to the warehouse to be sorted and distributed, or preparing a pallet full of recess snacks for an Alameda school, our mission is always to do this work with dignity, respect, and a focus on serving those in need.
As we all process the torrent of information coming out of Washington, D.C. each day, it is these values, and the strength of our partners and community, that give me hope for weathering this tumultuous time. I know that our Alameda community will step up if we see an increase in need if workers are laid off unexpectedly. I know that our generous donors will support AFB if SNAP (food stamp) benefits are reduced, driving more families to social safety net programs like ours. And I know that our volunteers will continue to work tirelessly to provide these services with warmth and connection, ensuring that all who are in need feel comfortable seeking assistance.
Whatever changes we see in the future, we will be ready to do our part with help from our generous community. As our community faces these challenges, we encourage you to join us. Volunteer your time, donate food, or spread the word — together, we can continue to ensure that no one in Alameda goes hungry.
Teale Harden is Executive Director of the Alameda Food Bank.
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