Category: Programs

Building a Participant Volunteer Community One Bag at a Time

April 19, 2022

Mei has been picking up weekly groceries at our Martin Luther King Jr. pop-up pantry in the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco every week. After she retired as a seamstress, she took care of her grandchildren after they were born until they grew up. 

One day, Food Bank staffers passed out flyers asking participants if they’d be interested in volunteering. When Mei was approached, she immediately offered to volunteer and was eager to jump right in. 

“I enjoy coming here and wanted to help out,” said Mei, who smiled behind her mask while packing some carrots and winter squash into a food bag at the Martin Luther King Jr. pop-up pantry. “I always took my grandchildren to this park to play,” says Mei, “so this is my neighborhood.” 

Since then, Mei has been coming every week to pack food bags. Every Monday morning, the closed-off street next to Palega Playground and Recreation Center in the Portola neighborhood and just over a mile away from John McLaren Park turns into a food pantry. It’s a well-orchestrated symphony that participants have seen every week but are now helping to conduct. 

From Participant to Volunteer 

Louisa Cantwell, who supervises the pop-up, was looking for an opportunity to engage more with the community and decided to ask if the participants wanted to volunteer at this pantry with the Food Bank.  

“Even though the participants all speak different languages, there’s a genuine sense of community here. A participant volunteer said to me that she’s not able to donate food or money to the Food Bank. But she’s able to give her time, and she didn’t know she was able to do it before. She feels very empowered by that.” 

It’s also been easier for Louisa to fill up volunteer shifts. 

“What we found was by removing the barrier of having to sign up for a shift through our website, we were easily able to get people to come down and volunteer two to three hours of their time every Monday morning.” 

Annette, who’s a longtime volunteer, enjoyed seeing the change of pace since she started. “This is already a community-building experience,” she said. “To have participants volunteer with us too is incredible.” 

Preparing for 2022 and Beyond 

Louisa is planning to invite participants to volunteer at several other pantries. Because the community stepped up at the Martin Luther King Jr. pop-up, she’s hopeful that other pantries will see similar results 

“It’s really important to put equity at the center of what we do. These opportunities will give participants agency, choice, and power in the food distribution.” 

For Mei, volunteering while also receiving food made an impact on her. 

“I’m grateful to be able to get this food while volunteering because it helps so many people.” 

Meals on Wheels, Supply Chain Challenges, and Home-Delivered Groceries

February 9, 2022

It was 6am on a chilly Wednesday morning. Most people are still asleep in their beds at this hour, but in the parking lot of Meals on Wheels’ San Francisco headquarters in Bayview, the day had already begun. We came to tell the story of one of their main programs, a weekly sendoff of home-delivered groceries to participants across the city. Not only did we learn a lot about Meals on Wheels and the incredible work they do in San Francisco, but we also came away with an understanding of how the supply chain challenges that affected the Food Bank also impacted our partners.

As the black of morning slowly lightened to gray, about a dozen volunteers trickled in and gathered around a table to grab coffee and donuts before their shift. A Food Bank refrigerated truck slowly backed into the parking lot, and with a little direction from a woman in a Meals on Wheels fleece, the volunteers started dragging a few tables out of the warehouse and into the parking lot to form two assembly lines. Soon, pallets of carrots, onions, asparagus, and rice made their way to the assembly lines.

The last pallet unloaded off the truck had a surprise delivery of frozen high-grade fish. When we approached the woman directing the volunteers, she introduced herself as Stephanie Galinson, Volunteer Programs Manager at Meals on Wheels SF. “We pretty much know there’s going to be onions, apples, and carrots all winter long and we’re used to that,” she told me. But in the last two years, there’s been a lot of changes to what type of food we receive for our clients. “At the beginning of COVID, I guess the Food Bank had a sudden spurt of donations from restaurants that had to close down. So, we received some crazy wonderful stuff – the Food Bank called us one day and said, ‘Guess what you’re getting? Wagyu steaks.’ We said, ‘You’re joking, right?’ That Wednesday we carefully bagged up the gourmet steaks,” she laughed.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes for Home Delivered-Groceries and More

The pandemic threw Food Banking into chaos as we scrambled to find innovative solutions to unusual problems. But nearly two years in, we’re able to get enough context on how COVID impacts programs like home-delivered groceries that we can make some generalizations about how our work will be affected in the short-term future. The same goes for our partners like Meals on Wheels, who are starting to expect the unexpected. “We get unusual stuff – we’re getting more non-animal proteins, which is great. For example, we’ll get plant-based tuna substitute, or a lentil and rice package meal. We even had Impossible Burgers a couple weeks ago. The volunteers are excited about the increased variety, and it’s always interesting to get feedback from clients and learn whether they enjoy the new items. Some folks are excited to see something that’s not chicken or eggs, because it’s something different.”

Partners like Meals on Wheels, as well as our own food pantries, have seen such a change in the type of food they distribute for a few reasons. During the early days of COVID-19, we saw a spike in the number and type of donations we received. Our community has been incredibly generous during these hard times, whether it be through monetary donations that let us turn $1 into two meals or through the giving of food. In the first few months of the pandemic, we even saw some donated caviar pass through our warehouse on its way to participants.

But as the months of COVID have turned to years, we’re starting to see the effects of long-term disruption to industry, especially the global supply chain. “We’ve worked hard to overcome the barriers caused by supply chain challenges to meet the increased need for food assistance since the pandemic, but it puts tremendous strain on our financial resources,” Barbara Abbott, our Food Bank’s Vice President of Supply Chain, told me. Writ large, this means that we have to pay a lot more money for the food our neighbors need.

Not only are the Food Bank and our participants spending more money on food, but much of the available product is being bought out first by retailers. We’ve had to buy food from unusual places to replace what we lost due to cancelled or delayed shipments, like the frozen fish and Impossible Meat that partners like Meals on Wheels receive from us instead of the more typical seasonal food. The same goes for fruits and vegetables. Stephanie at Meals on Wheels, as well as many other partners, are seeing less-common produce like asparagus and pears replace the now harder-to-find regulars of onions, apples, carrots, and more for their home-delivered groceries.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Just as we’ve had to change the way we work at the Food Bank, Meals on Wheels had to transform their program to adjust to the realities of COVID-19. But the impact our food pantry programs have on the community is still as important as ever.

Volunteer Meals on Wheels driver Michael picks up some bags of home-delivered groceries for his rounds.

“I have a fixed route in the Tenderloin,” a volunteer Meals on Wheels driver named Michael told us while loading packed grocery bags into his car. “I bring the groceries to my clients, and we look forward to seeing each other. It’s much more than just the food delivery – it’s talking with my clients, and respecting them, and empathizing with them.”

It takes a community to meet the challenges posed by food insecurity, COVID-19, and supply chain uncertainty. The Food Bank is committed to supporting Meals on Wheels and other partners by supplying fresh, nutritious food for home-delivered groceries, and volunteers like Michael are with us every step of the way. “My clients can always depend on me on a Wednesday morning, to come with a bag of groceries and a good word,” he said.

Booker T. Washington Community Center Transforms for Good

January 26, 2022

You notice Booker T. Washington Community Center as soon as you round the corner of Presidio Avenue near the Fillmore – amongst the classical Victorian architecture of San Francisco, Booker T. is a modern structure of sleek steel and glass. Its left side stands a little taller than its right to accommodate the community center’s fifty Affordable Housing Units, and a pop of cheerful poppy-red marks the entrance to the building.

Booker T. serves the Fillmore and Western Addition neighborhoods in many critical ways. Among those fifty Affordable Housing Units are twenty-four apartments specifically designated for youth transitioning out of foster care, and the community center is also home to after-school programs for kids, classes for families, COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, services for seniors, and a food pantry program that the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank helps supply.

Pandemic Response

COVID-19 has changed not only how the Food Bank operates, but also how our partners like Booker T. Washington distribute food to their communities. “Our food pantry program, we’ve been doing it for a while,” said Ryan Babbitt, Director of Programs at Booker T. Prior to the pandemic, their pantry operated very differently. “We had it in person – we had it more personal.”

When shelter-in-place was instituted, Booker T. had to transform their food pantry program. Shutting down during the pandemic or only offering in-person service would have severely impacted the seniors that depend on their services. Seniors make up a significant portion of participants at the Food Bank and our partner pantries. That’s a trend we see at the state and national level, too – in 2019, 12% of seniors in California are food insecure. What’s equally concerning is that 63% of those hungry seniors have had to make the choice between paying for food and paying for their medications. according to a study by Feeding America. These statistics are from 2019, before COVID reared its head.

We don’t have data on senior hunger in the time of the coronavirus yet, but a look at how the virus changed daily life gives some clues. Those over 65 are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, which made going to a neighborhood food pantry a very risky option. That’s why Booker T. adapted their program. With help from the Food Bank and Project Open Hand, another food security nonprofit in San Francisco, seniors and other homebound neighbors in Western Addition and the Fillmore have access to either home-delivered groceries or a healthy frozen meal every day of the week.

“You receive food, and you also help out. It’s amazing,” confirmed an elderly participant/volunteer at Booker T. named Phillip.

Looking Forward

Though new coronavirus variants have complicated the reopening many of us hoped for in the summer of 2021 – and seniors have remained cautious about coming to the Booker T. pantry – vaccines and routine masking mean that a few seniors have begun to trickle back through the community center’s doors. “We had one elderly lady come in yesterday. Her name is Ms. Blanchard, and she’s been a staple at Booker T. for over 30 years. And yesterday was the first time we’ve seen her and got to give her a hug, you know?” one staffer said with a smile. “She runs our bingo programs too. She’s so important to the neighborhood.”

Senior Stories: Patricia at Grace Fellowship

December 28, 2021

Every Saturday morning, Patricia, a longtime resident of San Francisco, walks or busses with her Chihuahua to our partner food pantry at Grace Fellowship Community Church. Sometimes her friend Lester joins her, but when we met her last month, it was just her and her dog. Patricia has been receiving food from Grace Fellowship for four years now, and the pandemic made her situation even more challenging. “When I couldn’t come to the pantry, oh, I was heartbroken. We [in my senior facility] were sharing food… I had to look in my cabinets for things that my dog could eat. It saves me so much, because I can’t afford things. I have to pay for my electricity and things, so there’s a lot of expenses.”  

The Senior Hunger Landscape

Everyone needs a little bit of help as they grow older, whether by asking a grandkid or a neighbor to mow your lawn or having a friend pick up a few things at the store. But as everyone in the Bay Area knows, living in San Francisco or Marin is expensive. High housing prices and a steep cost of living mean that balancing expenses can be challenging, especially if you’re living on a fixed income such as Social Security disbursements like many seniors are. The unfortunate reality is that seniors are at a high risk of being forced to choose between food, bills, and medical expenses. Feeding America recently reported that California’s senior hunger rate has hovered at 8.4% in 2018 and 2019. We don’t have official data yet on the impact of COVID-19 on senior hunger rates, but we can infer that affording food hasn’t gotten any easier. We recently surveyed over 7,000 participants and learned that more than 80% of them have yet to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19, and recent problems in the global supply chain have made the prices of food rise in recent months.  

By getting food assistance, Patricia can pay her expenses while also improving her health. She, like many seniors, has a few health issues that poor nutrition makes more complicated. It’s the variety and type of food Patricia gets from Grace Fellowship that Patricia really appreciates. “I make smoothies out of the fruit and juice the celery. It’s really good for your intestines. And out of the rice, I make congee [rice pudding], or I make rice and I put whatever vegetables and chicken I got from the pantry in there. So you can make a lot of different things.” 

Our Partners Serving Seniors

Patricia is one of a community of seniors that the Food Bank, and our partner Grace Fellowship, serve. “We have quite a span of ages, though I think it probably leans towards seniors,” said Karen Seth, a pantry coordinator at Grace Fellowship. “One thing I think that we have really treasured is the relationships that we build with our guests and that they see us week in and week out. They’ll tell us what we’re going through. Some people have struggled with cancer, some people have struggled with losing their jobs, some people have been in and out of the hospital. And so, they tell us those things and we can be here and hear them and see them and receive them, and this can be a safe place for them.” 

It’s thanks to our supporters that we’re able to help our community and provide them with food that nourishes them and makes their lives better. This benefit extends beyond our participants. Rashmi, a volunteer at Grace Fellowship, told us, she loves coming to our partner pantry every Saturday. “I look forward to coming here,” she said. “I like giving food to the elderly and I feel happy when I give them extra food because I know them, and I know they are using the food.” 

Providing Hope and Joy with Food

December 22, 2021

Soup. Soap. And Salvation. Since 1865, The Salvation Army has taken a holistic approach to serve those with the greatest need in our community. According to Diane Shatto, a Lieutenant and ordained minister at San Rafael’s branch of The Salvation Army, you can’t nourish people’s spirits until you nourish them with food. “That’s why our food pantry and home-delivered groceries are key activities for us.” 

The Salvation Army, the Food Bank’s partner agency, serves about 300 people every week at its San Rafael facility. Most are either families from the neighborhood or seniors from the 55+ apartment complexes nearby. The weekly pantry is centrally located, next to the Canal Area and other food bank partners – Marin Community Clinics and Canal Alliance making it accessible for many in the community. The surrounding area is home to many new immigrants and young families – 22% of the Canal population is under the age of 18. 

“The partnership with the Food Bank is, well, magical,” said David Shatto, who manages the site along with his wife Diane. “The weekly deliveries of fresh food from the Fresh Rescue program, that comes from your warehouse just down the street on Kerner, keep the pantry well-stocked.” The community-centric approach is the key to our partnerships with organizations throughout San Francisco and Marin. Diane added, “we have the physical space, but we didn’t have the material resources to serve the community, but the Food Bank’s weekly deliveries help. It’s one big piece of the puzzle.”  

Carol Gotti has been volunteering with the Salvation Army’s food program for over ten years, and the participants are a lot more to her than names and numbers. “I’ve gotten to know about people’s lives, and you get a feeling about the things that bring people joy,” she said.  

“One of the senior participants I deliver to has a lot of health issues and allergies, and since I have the time, I give her items that she requests like fruits that won’t interact with her medication or upset her stomach. People feel bad to waste, so it makes her happy that someone is looking out for her.” 

When Covid hit and people lost their jobs or hours, many joined Carol as volunteers. “A few are teachers, a few are retirees, and others worked in restaurants,” she said, “It’s important to be doing something so that you feel like you’re thriving, and these volunteers have stayed with us beyond the initial panic of the pandemic.”  

“Our model is servant leadership, and though it’s a good feeling to help people, it’s frustrating we can’t do more,” said Diane. “We wish people didn’t have to get creative about feeding their families. What really gets me are the children who walk around hungry, and no one knows or asks them. I was one of those kids. 

“I was the second youngest of five children with three older brothers who were always more aggressive than me about grabbing the food at dinnertime. I had hunger pains all the time, and other kids at school would make fun of me because I was skinny. It makes you feel inferior, you lose motivation, and you lose hope. And that’s how the cycle of poverty continues.”

“Ending hunger is about more than just giving food, it’s about providing hope. That’s why our volunteers create such strong relationships with the participants. When you give people food, you build trust, and you can help them in deeper ways. Ultimately, it’s about hope, and when you have that, you can improve lives.” 

Carol agreed, “Food is a wonderful way to bring people together, and once you’ve done that, you share life, and you have the sheer joy of being in community with others. For our participants, it’s then an opportunity to pass that on to their families and spread more joy. It’s a perfect 360-degree relationship.” 

A Place for Food and a Place for Community

December 15, 2021

If you take a walk down 16th Street in the Mission on a Saturday morning, chances are you’ll see a steady stream of people going into an unassuming terra cotta-colored building and leaving with a full bag of groceries – and often a smile as well. That building is Grace Fellowship Community Church, and every Saturday, a rotating duo of coordinators lead a group of volunteers to pack seventy-plus bags of groceries. This week, Karen Seth and Cindy Peterson are spearheading the food pantry. 

The church has been doing this every week for over five years, and the Food Bank has been proud to be their source of groceries throughout. The half-dozen volunteers that showed up to help this particular Saturday unloaded, packed, and distributed enough food for about seventy grocery bags. “We love when we get all the produce,” said Cindy. Eggs and bags of onions and green beans were stacked, rice was apportioned, bread was sorted, and music played from someone’s portable speaker. The energy in the room was clearly upbeat. 

But it’s not just food that Grace Fellowship is passing out – they also provide a community, even in the time of COVID. “One thing that we have really treasured through the five years is the relationships that we build with our participants and that they see us week in and week out, and they’ll tell us what they’re going through,” said Karen. “Some people have struggled with cancer, some people have struggled with losing their jobs, some people have been in and out of the hospital. And so, they tell us these things, and we can be here and hear them and see them and receive them, and this can be a safe place for them.” 

Pantry coordinator Karen Seth opens a box of green beans.

It’s Not Just Food 

At the backbone of Grace Fellowship’s food pantry is its volunteers. Though it takes just a few hours per shift, the work volunteers do at Grace and beyond is vital to food pantries staying in operation. They lift heavy bags of produce, protein, and grains after they’re dropped off by the Food Bank truck, sort produce into assembly lines to make sure a soft pear doesn’t end up crushed in a grocery bag below a heavier squash or melon, and hand out full bags to participants as they come down the line – which lots of volunteers say is the most rewarding part of their work. Many come week after week to serve their community. There’s no one-size-fits-all description for volunteers at the Food Bank and at our partner pantries; they are young and elderly, regulars and non-regulars, from all walks of life. Some are exclusively volunteers, but others both receive food assistance and volunteer. Take Rashmi, a future nursing student who first came to Grace Fellowship in 2017. 

Rashmi packs grocery bags for participants alongside other volunteers.

When Rashmi moved from Nepal to San Francisco, she was a high schooler with parents that each worked two jobs. Her neighbor used to share the food she received from Grace Fellowship with Rashmi and her family, and eventually Rashmi tagged along: “She took me here one day, and I signed up that day. It was my way of kind of being responsible for the household, since my parents both worked full time, two jobs.”  

The food and community Rashmi received from Grace Fellowship not only allowed her to help provide for her family, but also freed up her time and mental space to concentrate on her studies. “It’s just kind of like, ‘oh, one burden off my shoulders,’ in a way,” she said. “I can go about my week without having to worry about what to get for lunch or think about how much to spend, because budgeting is one of my big challenges right now.” Giving back to Grace Fellowship is important to her, too. “I look forward to coming here, then giving food to elderlies and I feel happy when I give them extra food because I know them, and they are using the food.” 

One of the other volunteers helps an elderly participant, Patricia, load a bag of groceries onto her walker as her small white dog jumps down to give space.  

“This place, it’s so nice,” said Patricia with a big smile on her face. “They’re so kind to you. They always have extra food and offer it. And they remember your name, and you just feel blessed.” 

 

A Historic Landmark Helps Nonprofit Group Deliver Groceries for Local Seniors

November 15, 2021

On the corner of Grant Ave and California St and just two blocks away from the famous San Francisco Chinatown’s Dragon Gate, Old Saint Mary’s Cathedral is known for being the oldest church in the city, dating back to 1854, having survived the 1906 earthquake. 

Today, along with their ministering services, Old Saint Mary’s Cathedral houses Groceries for Seniors, a weekly delivery program (now 20 years strong) staffed with senior volunteers and part-time employees that have fostered a hard-working community while giving back. 

“We’re all one big family,” said Clarissa, one of the volunteers.  

Taking Care of Each Other 

Groceries for Seniors operates out of the church basement where “each week, we create over 1,100 bags that we distribute to low-income seniors throughout the San Francisco area,” said Tim Thompson, who coordinates the deliveries. “We’re delivering about 240 to 250 bags per day.” 

The grocery bags are pre-packed with fresh produce, grains, and protein, which is partially provided in partnership by the Food Bank and supplemented with donations from local grocery retailers. On this Monday, the volunteers were packing the bags with eggs, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower, and various fruits. 

“I worked with John Meehan, the founder of the Haight Ashbury Food Program, and Jesuit Brother Jack Graham to launch Groceries for Seniors back in 1998 and have been a board member ever since,” said Chief Programs Officer Sean Brooks, who oversees all the Food Bank’s services. “I am proud of our long and close partnership and the many people who can rely on Groceries for Seniors every week for a delivery of fresh, healthy food.” 

For the volunteers, it’s more than just assembling bags to serve their community. It’s what they enjoy doing, and it shows. 

“Whatever they need, we do our best to help the seniors, which makes me very happy,” said Mimi, another volunteer. 

Food Brings Us Together 

By around 10:30 in the morning, with the back of his van fully loaded, the delivery driver heads out to deliver the grocery bags. On Mondays, they deliver to Mei Lun Yuen, an apartment building in Chinatown that houses mostly low-income seniors and families of Chinese descent. 

Once the driver unloads the bags into the building lobby, one of the property managers of the building uses the intercom and notifies the residents that they can come down to pick up their bags. Before the COVID vaccine was widely distributed some buildings, like Mei Lun Yuen, had to do contactless delivery due to social distancing guidelines. Now the residents are happy to catch up with each other and the volunteers as they grab their bags and the conversation often turns to meals they are looking forward to.

“I’m happy to get the food,” said Liyi, a resident. “I sometimes make noodles, boiled eggs and potatoes—some simple meals I love.” 

Cindy, another resident, enjoys making dishes like spaghetti. “I use spaghetti sauce, onions, and meatballs to make it,” she said. 

Because all the senior residents are retired, they rely on food delivery to supplement their weekly food budget. That is why the Groceries for Seniors program is essential for low-income seniors, and the Food Bank is working with them to ensure that food is distributed on a weekly basis so that residents can make their favorite dishes. 

Volunteering with a Purpose 

Most of the volunteers at the Groceries for Seniors programs are also seniors and retired. They understand how important this program is and have the urge to help their own. This is true for Yip. 

“We’re still able to move around, so I’m here to help out my community,” she said. “I’ll only stop helping if I can’t move anymore.” 

Many of the volunteers only speak Chinese but can still connect with one another through the act of volunteering. 

“It’s important to take care of seniors and families, and we are a family here,” said Yip. 

Home-Delivered Groceries a Lifeline for Former Chef | Dru’s Story

November 15, 2021

Fourteen years ago, Dru Devoe got on his Harley Davidson motorcycle and left his home in Florida with only clothes and whatever he could fit in his saddlebags. He landed in the Bay Area and eventually settled in Marin County.

In Florida, Dru owned a restaurant serving typical American fare. In his early days, he was the chef and wore all the hats. But as the business took off, he hired other people to help him. He always loved food. In Marin, he served food to the unhoused as a volunteer at the Ritter Center, which provides wraparound services, including providing food from the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.  Dru worked odd jobs around the county in between his volunteering.

In 2016, tragedy hit when Dru suffered a stroke. He lost his independence, yet getting help was incredibly challenging. “I used to be very social,” he said. “But the changes in my brain from the stroke gave me extreme social anxiety.” 

Dru had savings from the restaurant, but he tore through them during his recovery. Like so many people with large medical bills, he was left virtually penniless. “I had to get on disability,” he said. “But even with that, I could barely pay the rent.” 

One day, a friend introduced Dru to Rebecca. She saw the state of his empty fridge, and she gently asked him if he could go shopping, knowing he was having trouble being around people. Rebecca asked if she could help. As luck would have it, she was a volunteer at a food pantry in Marin that also provided home-delivered groceries, in partnership with the Food Bank. 

Since then, every week Rebecca brings Dru a bag of healthy food which has been a lifesaver to him. “Those were some lean times before the Food Bank,” he said. “I was losing weight and couldn’t afford to go to the market. 

“The food really helps me, and I love all the fruits and vegetables. I change my menu every week, depending on what’s in the bag. My favorites are eggplant for eggplant parmesan or chicken for every kind of recipe: chicken piccata, chicken marsala, or chicken parmesan. Sometimes there’s even fruits and vegetables that I’ve never tried before, so I google them and find new recipes.”  

At 62, with the food he gets from the Food Bank, Dru is doing better. He still has significant health problems, but having dependable food makes him feel healthier and helps him keep more of his independence. He feels incredible gratitude.

“A lot of good food goes to waste in this country, so the people who are giving those donations deserve kudos,” said Dru. “A big thank you goes out to everyone at the Food Bank.”

The Breakfast Club: Tommy, William and Clifford

October 12, 2021

On a cold, damp San Francisco morning in late June, Clifford, William and Tommy sat together eating breakfast and sipping coffee in the parking lot of Glide Memorial Church, a long-time Food Bank partner. Their posture landed somewhere between socially distancing and huddling to keep warm and hear each other.  

The foldout table was placed there by Glide’s staff and volunteers in preparation for Glide’s daily free breakfast – a staple for many in San Francisco.  

A couple years ago William, Clifford and Tommy may have gathered for a quick breakfast in Glide’s basement dining hall. But when the pandemic hit, Glide immediately moved its meal program outdoors and started serving seniors and disabled individuals first.  

That’s how these three men met – joining the first group to line up, they found a seat together and quickly formed a sort of pandemic breakfast club.  

For William the mornings are a nice time to enjoy “some coffee, yogurt, pastries or a good boiled egg when they’re cooked right.” The cold, damp San Francisco weather is a little less to his liking. “I’d rather be downstairs in the basement at the dining table. Just to get out of the wind. I have lung problems, so the dampness and coolness set me off real easy.” 

Tommy who has been coming to Glide for 13 years says, “I like it anywhere I can have breakfast, but it’s pretty good inside.” 

Food Is Central  

Food is central to creating community. When we can come together around a shared meal, we build connections, we foster understanding, and we grow together. And this isn’t true just of a family dinner or a special holiday celebration—meal programs like Glide’s are part of the fabric of our community.  

George Gundry, who grew up in the Bay Area and is now Director of Glide’s Free Daily Meal Program put it simply: “I always knew about the meals line, I think everybody does. The meal line is the gateway to Glide.”  

Long before the pandemic the breakfast, lunch and dinner Glide prepared daily for people living in single room occupancies (or SROs) without cooking facilities, staying in shelters, or living on the streets served as a de facto family meal.  

For the breakfast club, the morning breakfast has become a ritual. Each day William, Clifford and Tommy pull up a chair in the parking lot and check in, swap stories and joke with the staff and volunteers.  

On this particular morning, William makes sure his friends are doing alright – Tommy recently got out of the hospital and Clifford has a bit of a cold. But like any good meal the checkups quickly turn to how is the food – William thinks it’s good, Tommy jokingly says, “its edible.” And then it’s on to stories of the old days. Each of these men has spent decades in San Francisco, and in a city where the only constant thing seems to be change and rising prices, they were part of some of its most iconic moments. Huddled over breakfast, William starts talking about his days protesting and Clifford shares stories of working at the shipyard building boats that went to Vietnam. 

Food does more than fill a hungry belly—it is essential to our humanity. A simple meal can nourish our whole being while turning strangers into friends and friends into family.

The Food Bank and Glide Memorial Church: A Partnership of Caring

October 12, 2021

Since its beginning, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank has partnered with hundreds of grassroots organizations, from Chinatown to Bayview and San Geronimo Valley to the Marin Canal Area. We pool our expertise and resources to provide dependable food and give people options that make sense for them and their families. 

One of our oldest partnerships is with Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. Since the 1960’s, Glide has welcomed and served a diverse community of poor and marginalized people in the Tenderloin. Through the years it has helped thousands of people find support, stability, and new beginnings through a variety of innovative programs. 

The nourishing food provided by the Food Bank each year helps Glide prepare over 2,200 meals daily for people living in SROs without cooking facilities, staying in shelters, or living on the streets.  

Food as a Gateway to New Beginnings

“People come to Glide where they receive breakfast, lunch and dinner, with much of the food coming from the Food Bank,” Glide’s Director of Free Daily Meals, George, tells us. “Food is central to what we do here at Glide, so our partnership with the Food Bank is really at the heart of our work. The meals program is a gateway for folks to access our other services. They come for the meals, and while they’re here they learn about the other services we offer. That way they’re able to get help with other needs like hygiene kits, clothing, help in recovering from domestic violence or addiction, childcare, legal assistance, and health services. For most, it all starts with a healthy meal in our dining rooms.” 

Since the start of the pandemic, Glide made a pivot and moved the meals program outside as it was no longer safe to congregate together in the basement dining rooms. Tables and chairs were set up in the open air in good weather, and tents in bad.  

What began as a necessary and temporary solution turned out to have a positive outcome. In addition to keeping folks as safe as possible, moving the program outside made the atmosphere less cramped, more relaxed and less rushed, with more time for staff to interact with diners. Glide staff hope to apply that lesson as the program moves back inside, and shift operations to street level within the building, with more space and light and air. 

A Healthy Meal and a Bag of Groceries

Another COVID innovation is the Monday Pop-Up pantry on Ellis Street. Every Monday, the Food Bank and Glide work in close collaboration to thoroughly clean Ellis Street and set up a pantry where people can safely come and choose healthy food for themselves and their families. Since many in the neighborhood don’t have cooking facilities, the Food Bank provides foods that require little or no cooking. 

As George says, “Some of our clients come here for breakfast, but then stay for the pantry. So they leave with a full breakfast and a nice bag of groceries.” 

The symbiotic partnership between the Food Bank and Glide is emblematic of the kind of equitable, accessible, community-driven services we know work best in San Francisco and Marin. “So many in the community take advantage of both the meals and the groceries. The product varies so there’s always something new and people love that. There’s so much need. We’re always asking for something and the Food Bank is always stepping up. So, thank you.”