The leaders of five Bay Area food banks gathered in San Jose on Tuesday to sound the alarm that the safety net their organizations provide for the community is in serious danger.
“We are facing the most challenging time in our history,” Second Harvest of Silicon Valley CEO Leslie Bacho said. The need for food assistance is back to the historic highs we saw at the height of the pandemic, yet financial support is down significantly. It is not keeping pace with the demand.”
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley CEO Leslie Bacho talks about the decline in donations and government funding for Bay Area food banks on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, at Second Harvest’s headquarters in North San Jose. Allison Goodwin, CEO of Redwood Empire Food Bank, and Caitlin Sly, CEO of Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, are standing at right. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Bacho was joined at Second Harvest’s North San Jose headquarters by Tanis Crosby, executive director of the SF-Marin Food Bank; Regi Young, executive director of the Alameda County Community Food Bank; Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano CEO Caitlin Sly; and Redwood Empire Food Bank CEO Allison Goodwin.
Last year, Bacho said, the Bay Area food banks provided 270 million meals for people in a region where income inequality is making many choose between food and other necessities like rent and clothing.
Volunteers from Hitachi receive instructions at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley’s headquarters in North San Jose on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Part of the issue is the extra government support that started during the COVID-19 pandemic has largely gone away. The food banks rely on donated food but also purchase food — especially perishable staples like milk, bread, eggs and meat.
Rising costs meant that Second Harvest of Silicon Valley recently had to decide between providing eggs or meat as a protein to its nonprofit partners. It ultimately chose eggs because they’re more versatile for many communities. Then Avian flu sent the price of eggs skyrocketing, squeezing them even more.
“There’s a widespread belief that people are back to work and unemployment numbers are low, so everything is OK, but we are here to tell you that perception is not the reality we’re seeing day to day,” Bacho said. “We need everybody’s support. What we’re doing right now is not sustainable.”
You can find out how to donate or volunteer at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley at www.shfb.org.
DOGGONE IT: The city of San Jose’s new “pawp-up” adoption center — which officially opens Friday in an empty storefront on San Carlos and Third streets — will be a place to find dogs, cats and even rabbits available for adoption for the next month. And you’ll also be able to find a hot cup of coffee thanks to Kevin Johnson, founder of San Jose’s Coffee Companions Coffee Co.
Johnson is donating coffee for the run of the temporary adoption center, where the city hopes 100 animals can find new homes over the next few weeks. He started Coffee Companions after he started training service dogs, something that helped him through a dark time following the death of his mother. Coffee Companions donates a portion of its sales to Bay Area animal rescues.
“For me, animals are more than just pets. They are healers, teachers and friends,” Johnson said Wednesday at a preview of the downtown adoption center. Adopting an animal, he said, “is not just going to change their lives, it’s going to change yours.”
The adoption center will be open Fridays through Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. through Jan. 5, and you can find out which animals are available for adoption at bit.ly/SJPAWPUP. Animals that aren’t adopted will spend their nights back at the San Jose Animal Shelter on Monterey Road.
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IT’S GOOD TO BE THE QUEEN: Jennifer Cullenbine, is retiring from her role as “Queen Elf” for Family Giving Tree, the nonprofit she founded 35 years ago. That means next holiday season, she could decorate cookies or watch any number of Hallmark Christmas movies — things she hasn’t had time for while working to fulfill the wishes of thousands of Bay Area children every year.
“All of a sudden, there’s this whole world of things you can do in December,” Cullenbine said Tuesday, as she celebrated with volunteers and staff at her last “Cocoa with the Queen” donation event at the Sunnyvale warehouse.
Jennifer Cullenbine, “Queen Elf” and founder of Family Giving Tree, sits with her dog, Daisy, for her last “Cocoa with the Queen” celebration at Family Giving Tree’s warehouse in Sunnyvale on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. Cullenbine is retiring from Family Giving Tree this year after 35 years. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Cullenbine said she’s grateful to leave the organization on a high note, with more than 2.4 million holiday gifts and backpacks filled with school supplies distributed to Bay Area kids. And while that’s a pretty good legacy on its own, Cullenbine said she’s most proud of successfully wrestling with government agencies to allow kids to volunteer for Family Giving Tree.
“That let our volunteers come with a second or even a third generation who then could learn about the haves and have-nots in our community from an early age,” she said. Sounds like she’s been working on making a lot more philanthropic elves.
