ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Imagine a Community Without Hunger
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ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Imagine a community without hunger. Where every student is nourished and ready to learn. Where no one makes impossible choices between a home, BOARD OF DIRECTORS medicine, and food. Officers Where every one of us can thrive and realize our full potential. Dawn Willoughby, Chair, Board Member A hunger-free community means Alameda County is healthier, Beth Strachan, Vice Chair, Metropolitan Group more prosperous, vibrant, and inclusive. Sayed Darwish, Secretary, BrightPlan A hunger-free Alameda County benefits us all. Robert Andersen, Treasurer, Xperi Corporation We know this is possible. However, hunger is a complex issue, Sara Webber, Network Chairperson, and it requires much more than providing food. That’s why we’re Berkeley Food Network building an exciting movement to ease the hunger 1 in 5 of us Members experiences day to day. And, we’re working to eliminate its root causes to improve the lives of the people we serve. Ted Monk (Past Chair), Sodexo C.J. Bhalla, Kaiser Permanente That is the essence of what you will find in this Annual Report. Ruben E. Canedo, UC Berkeley We’re well on our way to expanding our core work – food Ian Castille, Capital Advantage, Inc. distribution, outreach, and advocacy – to reach a goal of Danielle Coleman, VMware, Inc. providing 120 million meals annually by 2022. Chris Gaither, Executive Coach But there’s a lot more to our current vision. Krista Lucchesi, Mercy Brown Bag Program Alameda County is expensive, and we’re working to reach Robin Nebel, Drake’s Brewing Company more people who could use our — and your — help. We’re Chuck Reinhard, Ernst and Young LLP developing programs to show how our work is changing lives, Tiffany Taylor, Genentech like preventing diet-related illness or improving success in school. And we’re expanding our efforts to address poverty and This list reflects board membership and the systems that perpetuate it — including racism. affiliations for fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. It’s no easy task. But, we’re prepared to take on this challenge because we know what success means. And because we have you in our corner. Having served our community since 1985, we know our potential impact, but we need the resources to innovate and evolve. That’s your role. Your support. Your voice. Your time. Your skills. They are all critical to our ability to grow and create a hunger- free community. Thank you. Suzan Bateson Dawn Willoughby Executive Director Chair, Board of Directors FY2019 AT-A-GLANCE Solving Hunger... FOOD DISTRIBUTION CALFRESH ADVOCACY WINS 27 4 22 MILLION MEALS MILLION MEALS MILLION MEALS ...Transforming Lives DIRECT DISTRIBUTION 54% 248 344,326 OF THE FOOD PEOPLE ENROLLED CLIENTS SERVED DISTRIBUTED IS IN THE DIABETES FARM FRESH PREVENTION PRODUCE PROGRAM 43% REDUCING HUNGER ARE CHILDREN IMPROVING HEALTH IMPROVING NUTRITION Our mission: Alameda County Community Food Bank passionately pursues a hunger-free community Our vision: Children, adults, and seniors of Alameda County do not worry about where their next meal is coming from Sisters Vanesa and Briana Food Bank clients, Hayward CLIENT-CENTERED NUTRITION Culinary traditions are an influential part of many cultures. As an organization that serves one of the most diverse counties in the country, it’s important to consider those traditions when talking about health and nutrition. That’s the foundation of our Client-Centered Nutrition initiative, which acknowledges that health does not have to be obtained by a Western diet. The program aims to improve our clients’ health through a more comprehensive, inclusive definition of nutrition. “We want to help people feel empowered to make small shifts in how they’re eating that make sense to them and are possible,”says Jenny Lowe, ACCFB Nutrition and Wellness Manager. Based on foods indigenous to Latin America and using ingredients commonly found in our warehouse, our Nutrition Team created several healthy recipes, which are given out at food distributions and nutrition education classes. Clients surveyed said they found the recipes familiar and easy to make from foods they regularly prepare. Our team is working to develop similar resources for different communities we serve. DIABETES PREVENTION PROJECT The connection between food security and health is irrefutable. Daisy, a participant in our Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), is living proof. “I need to take time for my health. I want to be here for my children,” she said. In Alameda County, 1 in 5 of our client households has at least one member with diabetes or high blood pressure – illnesses directly related to challenges accessing nourishing food. As the only food bank in the nation selected to participate in this pilot program, we set out to show how food insecurity intervention can help people diagnosed as prediabetic. The results showed increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and promising involvement in the general mental health of the 248 participants. And, we were accepted for publication in Preventing Chronic Disease, a publication by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For Daisy, who was at risk for prediabetes, the results not only improved her health, but her entire family’s. Her husband and two daughters joined her in losing weight and eating more nutritious food. “I’m feeling really, really good,” said Daisy. Daisy Diabetes Prevention Program participant, Oakland Food Bank volunteers FOOD DISTRIBUTION In FY19, we distributed the equivalent of 27 million meals — procured from purchased food, donations, USDA, and our Food Recovery Program (which is aimed at reducing food waste). This food reached communities in all parts of the county through our network of 253 partner agencies. We also expanded our direct distribution programs to 65 sites, which includes mobile and school-based pantries. Connecting families to CalFresh (food stamps) through application assistance and case management is an essential element of our efforts to ensure our community has access to nourishing food. In FY19, our multilingual outreach team helped 4,495 households apply for CalFresh, of which approximately 770 were for newly eligible Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. These benefits amounted to 4.3 million meals for low-income residents and an estimated impact of $24.8 million in economic stimulus to the local community. SSI EXPANSION Esther, 81, is just one of thousands of seniors in our community who needs a little help putting food on the table. This year, our work led to nearly 50,000 more seniors receiving that support. In FY19, CalFresh (SNAP) was finally extended to people living on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a federal program that benefits low-income seniors and disabled individuals. It’s a change we fought for, alongside SSI recipients, for more than a decade. The forceful advocacy efforts paid off. Partnering with Alameda County Social Services, our Outreach efforts were instrumental in accommodating the spike in applications thanks to this expansion. We opened Saturday appointments, hosted enrollment events, and expanded our language capabilities. The result: just in the first two months, more than 400 SSI recipients enrolled, giving them more resources to purchase healthy food. “It’s a great benefit to have a program to assist with food and provide some stability,” Esther said. Esther CalFresh recipient, Oakland Twyla Food program participant, Oakland CLIENT VOICE Better understanding our clients and their needs is key to our efforts to expand our services and improve the lives of more people than ever before. People like Twyla. Twyla was one of the first clients to participate in our Client Voice initiative, which launched in the fall of FY19 in ten of our partner agencies and has 13,800 clients enrolled. “Things run so much smoother,” Twyla said. “And I’m able to pick up my groceries faster.” Client Voice will give the Food Bank clearer insight into who is facing hunger by responsibly collecting information from food program participants who are issued a client card that is scanned when they pick up groceries. With a goal of implementation at 80 percent of our network by FY23, Client Voice will give our Food Bank a real-time client count, help evaluate shifts in demographics, and gauge the impact of our work — ultimately leading to improvements in how we are able to serve our community. FOOD RECOVERY PROGRAM As a leader in the modern food rescue movement, our Food Recovery Program (FRP) partners with retailers to collect millions of pounds of food surplus, diverting resources to help neighbors and reduce waste. This year, FRP rescued 4.3 million pounds of food — adding fresh, nutritious variety to distributions at 43 partner agencies around the county. FRP’s value also makes an environmental impact: our efforts resulted in reduced harmful greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 4,000 units in FY19. And it has tangible benefits for our partners. “This partnership helps us responsibly and effectively help thousands of people in our community while keeping food safety at the forefront, feeding people and infusing lives with health and happiness,” said Becca Whitman, Senior Manager, Community Relations at Raley’s, and FRP partner. “It takes all of us to alleviate hunger.” Yaiza Food Bank client, Hayward EMERGENCY RESPONSE One overlooked role of our Food Bank is that of a second responder, ready on a moment’s notice to provide urgent, and often long-term, support during emergencies — as we did multiple times in FY19. Ann, an employee with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), was one of 1,200 federal employees furloughed or required to work without pay that we supported during the two-week- long government shutdown. “I waited as long as I could before coming to the Food Bank. I do have a weekly food budget, but that was based on my income,” Ann said.