Food News

Oakland- Food banks in the Bay Area are experiencing increased demand for their services, yet their fundraising efforts have fallen short, including the Alameda County Community Food Bank, which has seen a 30 percent decrease in fundraising compared to the previous year.

The executive director of the Alameda County Community Food Bank, Regi Young said, “Like many food banks right now, we’ve seen a decline in fundraising because a lot of people feel like the pandemic is over. The pandemic is over in some ways but the remnants and the impact of the pandemic … are still really relevant right now.”

Every one in four residents is experiencing food insecurity in Alameda County. Every week, around Million meals are provided by the food bank. The Alameda County Community Food Bank, which had a pre-pandemic budget of $14 million, is now seeking to raise a total of $14 million during this holiday season.

Young said, “Food insecurity is a major issue right now. The fact that one in four people are struggling with some form of food insecurity is really unacceptable to us.”

The Alameda County community food bank is revving up its offense in the fight against hunger and got major help this Sunday entering the stretch of the holiday season.

Young said, “One of the great foundations of our region, Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation has decided they will match dollar-for-dollar — up to $250,000 — any donations that come to our food bank, up until December 31st. This is huge news for us”.

The food bank’s goal is to raise $4 Million between now and December 31. Achieving this goal seems to be critical during holidays but if done will also give a good start for the rest of the year.
Young is optimistic that the community will come through so that the food bank can continue to lend a helping hand to all the needy upon receiving help from the Curry’s Eat, Learn and Play foundation match.

Young said, “I think that these types of opportunities bring our community together. What we’ve seen over the years is that this is a community in the East Bay and the Bay Area as a whole that really cares.”