For a food-loving culture, it’s understandable to feel some degrees removed from the threat of hunger. The conditions can seem abstract; unreal, even. But it’s not lack of supply that threatens the unluckier of our Bay Area residents. The problem is that hungry people suffer because of extreme poverty. They lack the finances to really nourish themselves, to eat healthily, and keep themselves well to work, to live.
With food banks struggling to reach their fundraising goals and meet the demands, up more than 30 percent from last year, this season, often the most productive time for food banks and charities, sincerely has to be one of giving.
You can help step it up by volunteering or donating to these Bay Area food programs:
Glide
The only program in San Francisco to provide three meals a day, 364 days a year along with bag meals to go, Glide serves on average 2,560 meals a day with the help of kitchen staff and volunteers. No one is turned away, no matter what their situation as Glide’s mission is to create healthy communities by providing meal service, healthcare, housing and spiritual support. You can help by donating through monetary or in-kind donations or volunteer to serve a meal, a task that requires 60 volunteers each day to fill all shifts.
Project Open Hand
Providing home delivered meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to seriously ill people, Project Open Hand cites nutrition as a powerful weapon for fighting the effects of HIV/AIDS. Volunteering includes prep work, assembling deliveries, serving at senior lunch sites, or delivering meals to homebound, seriously ill people.
Curry Without Worry
Curry Without Worry was founded in 2006 to provide healthy, Nepalese food accompanied by drumming, singing, and cultural and spiritual Nepalese education. The meals are vegan, consisting of “nine jewels” which is the nine bean soup and “five elements” which are the total number of courses served, including curried veggies, puris, rice and chutney. You can come to the kitchen to help prep and serve Tuesdays at the Civic Center.
Haight Ashbury Food Program
Setting up weekly farmers market-style distribution, The Haight Ashbury Food Program is a pantry that allows their patrons to select the foods that best meet their families’ needs. The pantry needs volunteers every Saturday to help distribute the food, and for special projects such as securing donations, fundraising, data entry and special event volunteer help is also needed.
Food Not Bombs
Calling their collective a protest, not charity, Food Not Bombs aims to show the public how our society fails to provide food and housing for each of its members by distributing food in very public places. Bringing vegetarian meals to the BART Plaza at 16th & Mission Streets and the UN Plaza on Market Street every week, Food Not Bombs recognizes that the issue isn’t too little production; it’s inequitable distribution. Help is often needed to pick up food, distribute, cook, serve and clean.
SF Food Bank
Collecting food from growers, manufacturers, and grocers, the SF Food Bank provides nourishment to close to 200,000 people through more than 400 nonprofit partners. While the bank has had an outpouring of volunteer support this year, it could still use help through monetary donations. You also can contribute by taking the SF Foodie Quiz on the site. Each new quiz taker earns $1 towards the food bank from each of the foodie quiz sponsors, Metromint and Absinthe Brasserie.
Free Farm Stand
Located on a 1/3 acre lot on a parcel loaned by St. Paulus Lutheran Church, Free Farm Stand has built a farm to grow as much food as possible to distribute at their stand in the Mission. Also gathering surpluses from neighborhood and community gardens, farmers markets, and public and private fruit trees, Free Farm Stand operates as a host to share the city’s surplus farm-fresh fruits and veggies. You can help by contacting them about a fruit tree that needs picking or if you want to start a garden and share your surplus.
See also: Put Your Money Where the Mouths Are: 12 Food Banks and Charities That Could Use Your Dough
Photo: Jeremy Toeman
