Author: Cady Osgood-Otis

Sinat’s Story | Food for Health

August 23, 2018

When Sinat gave birth five years ago, her doctors found an inoperable benign brain tumor. Since then, she has not been able to work full-time. Between parenting her three young daughters, her chemo treatments, and her headaches, finding a job that would accommodate her needs has been next to impossible.

Food Pantry Helps 

As a way to help make ends meet, Sinat temps part-time. But it’s not enough for her family, and she and her husband depend on the food they receive at the Tenderloin Community School pantry to make ends meet.  “With everything going on, healthy food is really important,” says Sinat. “We stay away from junk food, and vegetables are so necessary for the kids, so they stay healthy and energetic.”

Grandparents Pitch In

Sinat’s mom also goes to a Food Bank pantry nearby. Her parents emigrated with Sinat as refugees from war-torn Cambodia. When Sinat is temping, her parents watch her daughters and cook Cambodian food. “They love the vegetables and rice,” she says. “And because of the help we get at the pantry, we are able to afford meat at the grocery store.”

In San Francisco to Stay

Every day, her parents’ health declines from injuries and PTSD from their experiences in Cambodia. Sinat struggles to take care of them while she manages her brain tumor, which causes constant headaches and double vision. Her family has tried to leave the city to lower their housing costs, but that raised other challenges.

“My parents are in San Francisco, and they help us save money on childcare,” says Sinat. “We also have roots. I grew up here and see so many families I know at the food pantry. There, it doesn’t matter your race or where you are from, we are all in the same boat and just need food for our kids.”

“I’m grateful to donors at the Food Bank,” says Sinat. “What you are giving is helping out a lot of families like mine who wouldn’t make it in this city. It’s helping my daughters to grow up to be happy and do what they want in the future and not have to struggle like I do. Thank you.”

If you would like to help out a family like Sinat’s, consider a donation to the Food Bank today.

 

Healthy Food For People With No Place To Call Home

August 22, 2018

When you don’t have a stable roof over your head, getting enough nutritious food to stay healthy and take on life’s challenges can be impossible. As the Bay Area’s housing crisis has grown, so has our community’s homeless population. That’s why the Food Bank is committed to improving access to meet the growing need.

More than 8,600 people do not have a place to call home in San Francisco and Marin on any given night. The Food Bank reaches people who are struggling with homelessness in a number of ways, including our regular pantry distributions and community partners — many of which serve hot meals to people who are homeless.

We also partner with agencies such as CityTeam in San Francisco and the Ritter Center in Marin to distribute healthy food that does not need to be prepared in a kitchen. The special limited-cooking menu includes produce like oranges, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes; peanut butter and tuna; and a variety of snacks. Participants who have access to microwaves in shelters and single room occupancies (SROs) also receive food like potatoes and soup.

Several times a year, the Food Bank also participates in Project Homeless Connect where numerous agencies come together to provide a full spectrum of services. They include things like medical and dental care, clothes, foot washing, and of course, food.

PURPLE HEART VETERAN MANAGES DIABETES WITH HEALTHY FOOD

Maxwell is a Marine Corps veteran with a purple heart. He suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, and he became homeless when he returned to the U.S. He is currently moving from hotel to hotel, hoping he will soon have permanent housing.

Maxwell recently hooked up with the limited-cooking menu at the CityTeam pantry and says the food helps him manage his diabetes. “I feel good when I have food,” says Maxwell. “The week before last, I didn’t have it. I was in bed for three days feeling terrible. The food pantry is saving me.”

Once his housing is stabilized, Maxwell plans to finish his psychology degree at UCSF with support from veterans groups.

YOU CAN HELP THE FOOD BANK SERVE PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS

As the homeless population grows, the Food Bank must continue to innovate and expand our reach to make sure those who struggle to find shelter have enough to eat. We’ve convened an internal working group to improve our understanding of the problem and ways we can rally as a community to help our neighbors in need. If you’re able, please make a gift today to help serve our hungry neighbors, including people facing homelessness.

 

Food Bank Innovations | Starbucks FoodShare

August 6, 2018

It’s 5 o’clock in the morning when Food Bank driver Manny deftly parks his Sprinter van at the curb in front of a Starbucks store.

In a couple of hours, this store will be teeming with early-morning coffee seekers. But for now, it’s just Manny and his partner, Max, doing their nightly pick up of Starbucks’ unsold food.  

Most nights, Manny and Max rescue about three- to four-thousand pounds of unsold food from 69 Starbucks stores. It’s all part of FoodShare, Starbucks’ growing, nationwide program that donates unsold food to Feeding America® member food banks, which is ultimately distributed to neighbors in need.

Thanks to FoodShare, our Food Bank is able to gather and distribute food from Starbucks’ high quality, nutritious Mercato line, including salads, wraps and sandwiches. On this particular shift, Manny and Max collect close to 3-thousand pounds of food. This year, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank expects to rescue more than 400,000 pounds of food through FoodShare.

Manny and Max have a final stop before they can call it a day – er…night! They transport the Starbucks bounty directly to our nonprofit partners at St. Anthony’s Dining Room, which accepts FoodShare deliveries on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The other 3 days, this food is taken to Glide Memorial Church. For these partners, the benefit is clear: Starbucks’ fresh, rescued food helps nourish some of our community’s most vulnerable residents.

“Look at this!” says Henry, a guest at St. Anthony’s later that day, who’s showing off a wrapped FoodShare fruit-bowl.

“This here is saving me right now,” says the Navy veteran, who dines regularly at St. Anthony’s. “I’ll eat lunch here and take this bowl of fruit home and use it as dinner. “The fact that I can take it home and keep it fresh is very useful.”

St. Anthony’s Food Production Coordinator Ruth Selby says the FoodShare program has been nothing less than a game-changer: “I can’t tell you what a difference this food is making. We serve lunch every day to thousands of guests in our dining room. The Starbucks Mercato items allow folks who face hunger throughout the day to also take something home that is not only filling, but nutritious as well.”

Food Bank Chief Operating Officer Meredith Nguyen applauds Starbucks’ visionary approach: “Rescuing and sharing Starbucks’ fantastic food is only possible because the company has also invested in our operations and infrastructure. They provided funds that enabled us to hire drivers and contributed to the purchase of a new refrigerated van so that we could launch and sustain this effort.”

The quality of the Mercato food is also drawing notice. Tanya lunches regularly at St Anthony’s and says she now looks forward to those special days when she gets a take-home meal with lunch.

“They’re delicious, for sure, but they’re also one of the healthiest things that I eat during most days, because I don’t have the money to pay for something like this.”

Starbucks officials are very pleased with how this program has grown. “Organizations like San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and St. Anthony’s Dining Room make it possible for our surplus food to get into the hands that need it most,” said Laura Olson, director Global Social Impact. “We take great pride in supporting the communities we serve in any way we can. Through FoodShare, our partners are able to give back to those in need and address one of the most serious issues we have today, hunger.”

The FoodShare program was started back in 2016 in San Diego and has spread to other cities, including Chicago, Oklahoma and San Jose.

Nutrition Education | Frequently Asked Questions

August 3, 2018

We at the Food Bank know that providing nutritious food to our neighbors in need is just the beginning — it’s also critical that we empower participants with information and resources for healthy eating. That is why our Nutrition Education team is out in the community daily, helping our pantry participants aim for a lifetime of good health by providing nutrition classes, recipes, and cooking demonstrations. And, we encourage our community to ask questions, which is one of the best ways for everyone to learn – including us!

Here are some of the questions most commonly asked by class participants:

1. Which types of oil are the best to use when cooking?

Answer: When cooking at higher temperatures, we recommend oils that are unsaturated, such as canola oil, avocado oil, and sunflower seed oil. For light sautés and dressings, we recommend olive oils. Keep in mind that each type of oil has a unique smoke point, or point at which the oil overheats. Despite popular belief, olive oil is not always the best option to cook with, since it has a low smoke point and burns more easily.

Unsaturated Fats – i.e. canola oil, corn oil, olive oil, etc. — are healthier than Saturated or Trans Fats because they help increase our levels of good cholesterol and help lower our levels of bad cholesterol. Unsaturated fats are usually plant–based and liquid at room temperature. and are recommended over saturated fats and trans fats which are solid at room temperature (i.e. shortening, butter, lard).

2. What is the difference between sugar and artificial sweeteners?

Answer: Artificial sweeteners are chemical compounds that taste like sugar, but they are not sugar. These may be recommended by health-care providers to individuals with chronic illnesses affected by sugar consumption (i.e. pre-diabetes/diabetes). Unless directed by your doctor, we do not recommend that folks consume artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are significantly sweeter than sugar and your body can build a tolerance. Research has also shown that consuming artificial sugars can lead to over eating sugar-sweetened foods, because your body thinks it is getting sugar, but it is not, causing continued cravings for sweet foods.

3. Doesn’t fruit have sugar? Does that mean fruit is bad for me?

Answer: Fruit does have sugar, but it’s natural sugar, not added sugar, – so you don’t need to count it within your daily added sugar limits. For the average healthy adult, the daily sugar limit is 6-9 teaspoons of added sugar per day, depending on body mass. Besides being tasty, fruit also provides a variety of important nutrients – such as fiber and vitamins. Compared to processed foods with added sugar, fruits contain fiber which can help slow down the process of sugar getting absorbed into your bloodstream. As a result, you feel satisfied longer and are not left with a “sugar crash” that is often associated with other treats.

Do you have your own burning question to ask our Nutrition Education team? If so, add it to the comments section and we’ll try our best to answer it in a future blog post.

Food for Mendocino and Lake County Fire Evacuees

August 1, 2018

When disaster strikes, you can always count on the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank to lend a hand. In the case of the Mendocino/Lake County Complex Fires, it’s not just a hand we’re lending – it’s multiple pallets of emergency food and water for fire evacuees.

Our Food Resources team has been monitoring the situation, and when contacted by our friends at Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB), we leaped into action – assembling ten pallets of emergency water, easy-open food pouches, and ready-to-eat food. This week, emergency food supplies from our Food Bank warehouse will help REFB restock its rapidly-depleting emergency food inventories.

“We are once again saddened by the news of these fires, but we are glad to be a part of the Food Bank regional network so that we can help out, even from afar,” said Barbara Abbott, Director of Food Sourcing and Allocation at San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. “Our hearts and thoughts are with our Northern California neighbors whose homes and lives have been damaged by the fires.”

Because of the generous support of our donors, our Food Bank collaborates year round with other Food Banks around the region – and across the country – to prepare for and respond to disasters.

TAKE ACTION

  • Get updates and stay connected with news about how San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is supporting the wildfire recovery efforts by following us on Facebook and Twitter.
  • Make an emergency plan with your loved ones so you know what to do when disaster strikes. Visit www.readymarin.org or www.sf72.org for information and useful guides to help you get prepared.

NOTE: At this time, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is not accepting donations of food, water, or other supplies for the fire relief effort.

Miyuki’s Story | Food is Life

July 24, 2018

If you’re going on appearances alone, then there is little way that you would know all the hardships Miyuki and her family have experienced in recent years.  The smiling, bespectacled woman was busy picking up a week’s worth of groceries at the Food Bank’s Health Children pantry at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School in the South of Market neighborhood when she recalled the past seven years of her life.

Her troubles really started in March of 2011 when a 9.1 earthquake, and resulting tsunami, caused widespread damage in her home country of Japan, including the failure of the nearby Fukushima nuclear power plant.  Eventually, four of Miyuki’s friends would die of cancer in their 30’s – she believes they all are related to the radiation.  In an effort to protect her infant daughter, Miyuki and her husband fled to the United States.

A SAFER PLACE TO LIVE

They settled in Oakland, but soon after, they lost everything when their apartment building burned to the ground.  Homeless, and staying with various friends for about two years, fate finally smiled on Miyuki’s family in the form of an affordable housing unit that opened up in San Francisco.

It is here where they are starting fresh, but times are still tough. Miyuki’s husband works construction, and she picks up freelance work, but mostly she cares for her daughter. “We can’t afford babysitters, and it’s my job as her mother to take care of my daughter.”

FOOD BRINGS HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

She says the food pantry at her daughter’s school helps her so much. “We’re broke, so I cook whatever I get and use everything,” she says.

Miyuki recently made oat bar snacks for her daughter’s classroom, using mostly items that she picked up at the pantry.  “The kids loved them – they grabbed me and asked, ‘how did you make that?’ It made me happy. I see a lot of families at the school struggling to eat healthy food which is why it’s great that the pantry has so many fruits and vegetables.  Food is life.”

LIVE YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW

What most inspires her is to see the other families in line who are also struggling, but doing what they can to make sure their children are well-nourished.

“The world is a mess right now. But it doesn’t matter where you live, you have to live your life right now and appreciate what you have and remain positive. The Food Pantry is a really positive place, and I hope people keep donating to feed people like us. I appreciate it so much, and it brings so much happiness to low-income families – particularly the kids.”

If you wish to help families like Miyuki’s please consider a donation to the Food Bank today.

Food Bank Innovations | Summer Kids Food Market

June 28, 2018

If she had her druthers, 7-year-old Michaela would tackle not one, but two professions when she grows up.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”   Well, I got two…during the weekdays I want to be a hair stylist.  And on weekends I want to be a designer.
“What kind of designer?”  I want to be a fashion designer for dogs and people!
“A dog dress designer?”  Yeah…I saw it on TV!”

The precocious second grader at San Francisco’s Dr. Charles Drew Academy then showed off some of her pet fashion designs on her campus-provided chromebook during an after-school program inside the multi-purpose room.  Technology and daycare aren’t the only things being offered at Charles Drew. Campus officials have partnered with the Food Bank for many years to provide fresh groceries on site – including hosting our Summer Kids Food Market.

Started back in 2016, our Summer Kids Food Market program was designed to help low-income families weather the summer months when children lose access to free and reduced-price school meal programs, and many school-based pantries close when campuses shut down for the summer break.

Michaela was excited that she and her family were able to get fresh groceries through the summer months.  “I like apples, oranges, bananas and mangoes..my mom puts a special sauce on the mangoes that make them super spicy and it’s good…I like that a lot.”

Michaela’s uncle, Ray Bean, is a part-time resource officer at the school and picked up groceries during the summer months too. “If you didn’t do the summer pantry thing, it would be a huge struggle with my pocketbook. I would have to go to the store and buy some of these items, and we all know how much healthy food costs these days. Your groceries are really a huge help to the entire community, especially during summertime.”

This is the third year of our Summer Kids Food Market program, and the most ambitious one yet. Four sites have been opened this year – one each in Chinatown, the Bayview, the Western Addition, and Potrero Hill – and are serving over 500 families from more than a dozen different schools in these neighborhoods.

If you would like to support innovative projects like our Summer Kids Food Markets, consider a donation today.

Big victories in Sacramento in 2018

June 22, 2018

2018 has been a big year for State budget advocacy. From a huge victory for seniors and people with disabilities, to greater support for food banks – we are grateful for our local legislators who have been allies every step of the way!

SSI recipients and CalFresh!

SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is a program that provides modest monthly grants to seniors and people with disabilities living on a low income. The maximum grant for an individual is about $910 per month. Due to a harmful state policy enacted in 1974, people on SSI have been barred from applying for CalFresh benefits.  In fact, California was the only state in the country where being on SSI made you ineligible for CalFresh.

But this year – thanks to fierce advocacy from Californians for SSI, a coalition of organizations and SSI recipients from across California – the Legislature and Governor Brown took action to end this policy. Starting in the summer of 2019, SSI recipients will be able to apply for CalFresh!

“This is a historic victory for the 46,000 people living on SSI in San Francisco and Marin counties, and is the single biggest advancement in the fight against hunger in many decades,” says Becky Gershon, Policy and Advocacy Manager for the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

Meanwhile, living on SSI is still quite a struggle, especially in high-rent counties like San Francisco and Marin. Check out our latest video from an SSI listening session, hosted by St. Anthony’s Foundation:

Increased $$ for food banks!

Operating food banks requires infrastructure: trucks, refrigeration units, pallet jacks, forklifts, and all sorts of other equipment that helps to keep fresh groceries moving. Unfortunately, equipment can get old, and break down, but ask any food bank operations manager and they’ll say they’d rather spend money on food to nourish more people than upgrades to infrastructure. We started a postcard writing campaign, urging Governor Brown to set aside funding for Food Bank infrastructure, and it worked.  The Governor approved $5.5 million in state funding this year to help food banks with the cost of upgrades!

We also sent postcards, signed by many of our supporters and volunteers, urging the Governor to include more funding for the CalFood program, which gives money to food banks to be able to purchase California grown foods.  Governor Brown came through again, allocating $8 million to that program.  Both funding measures will be shared among the 40+ food banks in California.

Thank you to all of you who signed these postcards during volunteer shifts in our warehouse, or those who signed our email petition. We believe that this collective effort played a role in the Governor’s decision-making.

Stay Connected!

Throughout the rest of the summer, the Food Bank’s Policy and Advocacy team will be working hard to promoting more State legislation that we have identified as important steps towards ending hunger. You can see the full list here.  We also urge you to sign up for our Advocacy Alerts, so you can help us spread our message at critical moments. Finally, stay engaged and get instant updates by following us on Twitter at @SFMFB_Advocacy.

Lizzy’s Story | Wise Beyond Her Years

June 21, 2018

The distinctive green-and-white Food Bank truck pulls up to the Bayanihan House, a single-room-occupancy hotel for low-income residents in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood.  It’s a warmer-than-usual morning, and Pantry Coordinator Lizzy is outside, in short sleeves, ready to work.

She busies herself with the fresh groceries just delivered by the Food Bank, going item by item as driver,  Soni Huanga, unloads multiple pallets of food. The chicken, fresh produce, and hearty grains on these pallets will feed dozens of people at the weekly food pantry at Bayanihan House.

“Look at those pears!” Lizzy exclaims, excited by the bounty of food that has just arrived. “We have heads of lettuce. And bags and bags of rice – those will be gone soon.”

Lizzy moves with a distinct confidence, like she’s been doing this kind of work in the community for years. In reality, this is her first job since she graduated college a year ago.

“I took the job because I realized that connecting people to food is central for them to feel loved for who they are,” Lizzy says.

That’s not lost on the residents of Bayanihan House, who rely on nutritious food from the pantry every week and look forward to connecting with Lizzy.

“Lizzy does a great job of making people feel comfortable,” says Keith, who lives in the building and not only volunteers at the weekly pantry, but also accesses his weekly groceries there. “You can see how happy people are when they come here on pantry day.”

Keith, like most residents of Bayanihan House, lives below the federal poverty level, making shopping at a grocery store a very rare event. He receives just $900 dollars a month in SSI payments. SSI is the federal income supplement program for low income seniors and disabled people that provides cash to meet basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter.

“Once I pay my rent, I usually have just a few bucks left over – not a lot to buy and eat healthy food,” Keith says. “Thankfully, we have the pantry. I really don’t know what I, or other people, would do without it.”

For Lizzy, providing food is not just about filling bellies – it’s about providing high-quality nutrition and dignity to people who have faced many life challenges.

“Access to good food takes away the stigma of having a disability, mental illness, or being old,” Lizzy says.  “It gives people agency; they can cook for themselves, and oftentimes they share the recipes they make with food from the pantry.  They also enjoy cooking together and sharing some of the meals they make.”

If you would like to help us provide food at pantries like the Bayanihan House and help occupants be healthier and happier, please consider a donation to the Food Bank today.

Nutrition Education | 4 Ways to Say ‘Goodbye’ to Salt

May 31, 2018

Salt has been used to preserve food for centuries. It is also used often to provide flavor. Over time, however, medical professionals have discovered that eating too much salt can be harmful to our health – leading to maladies like high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes.

While the daily sodium recommendation for healthy adults is 2,300 mg (or about 1 teaspoon), the average amount of sodium consumed by adults per day is 3,400 mg. So where does all of this salt come from?

Foods that are processed, packaged, or prepared in restaurants tend to contain high amounts of salt. Pizza, fast food, frozen meals, and deli meats are some of the saltiest foods we eat. In fact, foods that may not even taste salty — such as breads and pastries — are often high in sodium.

To help reduce sodium in your diet, here are a four tips:

  • Check The Label
    Use the nutrition facts label, found on the back of packaged products, to help select items that are low in sodium. Foods with 5% or less of the Daily Value of sodium per serving are considered low sodium. Choose products that are labeled “low-sodium”, “reduced sodium” or “no salt added” as another way to reduce your salt intake.
  • Cook It Yourself
    Although it may require more time and effort, cooking at home with fresh food allows you to control how much salt is added. If you cook a frozen or packaged meal, add vegetables such as steamed carrots or broccoli for a boost of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
  • Drain and Rinse Canned Foods
    Since salt is used as a preservative, canned items like vegetables, beans, and tuna tend to be high in sodium. When cooking with canned foods, always drain out the excess fluid and rinse with water.
  • Skip the Salt Altogether
    Use herbs and spices for flavor instead of adding salt. Spices like cumin, ginger, rosemary, cilantro, garlic or onion powder can be used to jazz up any meal.

The Nutrition Education team at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank shares these tips during our classes in the community. At our Food Pharmacies, we share low-sodium recipes with participants who are being treated for high blood pressure and diabetes.

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