Bay Area food bank demand rises as residents struggle

Bay Area food banks are stepping up to fill the gap for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. We have always supported the community during times of crises and need — that’s what we were designed to do.

But the prohibitive cost of living in the Bay Area coupled with the government’s rollback of pandemic-era support has magnified our role. Food banks have become the safety net for many Bay Area families, seniors, veterans and students.

Across the Bay Area, reliance on food banks and our partner distribution sites has increased and, in many cases, returned to the same level it was at the peak of the pandemic.

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley is serving an average of half a million people every month in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. In Alameda County, an estimated 1 in 4 residents is struggling to afford sufficient food. Alameda County Community Food Bank is on pace to provide more food than ever.

Half the people we serve are children and seniors. Most of the other clients are employed, often working multiple jobs — yet their earnings aren’t enough to pay all of their bills. In a recent Second Harvest client survey, more than 70% of respondents reported feeling worried about being able to pay all of their bills the following month.

Government programs are important, but they are based on federal poverty limits, which do not consider the local cost of living. This means many high-need Bay Area families aren’t eligible. This is a systemic issue and yet, increasingly, the only solution is for people to turn to their local food bank.

Food banks are volunteer-dependent and donation-driven. In fact, most Bay Area food banks receive over 80% of their operating revenue from private donations. Right now, the rate of people seeking our support is outpacing donations.

The economics simply don’t add up.

They won’t until our state and federal leaders come together to enforce policies that address food insecurity; the power to determine whether this problem gets worse or better lies squarely with decision-makers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. We’ve seen the positive impact of programs such as the Child Tax Credit reduce child poverty to historically low levels. Then child poverty doubled when these enhanced benefits were not reauthorized by Congress.