Before the pandemic, 32,000 households relied on us every week. Then COVID 19 hit. Within weeks. we pivoted our whole operation to safely serve twice as many households. Its been twelve months since the shelter-in-place order; 52 weeks of changes and challenges; 365 reasons to keep going. Meet some of our staff, telling the story of a year like no other.
"I think I was at work. The first thought that came to my mind was we are in trouble."
Steve Coover
"I was at work when the news came in. Within hours we had lost close to 3,000 volunteer reservations."
Cody Jang
"I can't believe how fast we grew, pivoted, made partnerships, took on more warehouses, crammed more food into more trucks for more locations, and on and on."
Kera Jewett
"COVID has magnified the existing health and income disparities in the community I support. This has been a devastating blow, which often causes me to feel both sadness and anger."
"I was hired as soon as lockdown started so I never had the chance to meet my co-workers, sit in my pod, or meet all of my partners in-person."
Denise Chen
"A lot of things in my life changed, and I wish I had been more kind to myself. Having hard, unproductive days in the midst of a pandemic is okay."
Lauren Cassell
COVID has completely changed my work. I now do all of my work from home and only go out into the community if my support is really needed.
Lucia Ruiz
"The community will come together in awe-inspiring ways, over and over again. In the really dark moments, people will surprise you with their willingness to help others."
"It has definitely turned a very social, direct service job into a pretty hands-off, remote situation."
Claudia Wallen
"I'm very proud of all my co-workers and their hard work and support. There needs to be a shout-out for everyone."
Rosalina Sham
"Not being able to see, hug, and be with these people in their time of need has been particularly difficult."
Ken Levin
"I'm inspried by the commitment of my partners to continue doing the work, sometimes non-stop, without any expectations of accolades, tangible rewards, and truly at the risk of their own health."
"Onboarding in a virtual environment was not the easiest, but I am grateful and excited to be a part of the Food Bank family!"
Anna Taniguchi
"I would tell myself to be strong, co-op with changes, and take care of the self before helping others."
Donna Tsung-Chan
"It has quadrupled it. This is the busiest we’ve ever been. Ever."
Angela Wirch
"Pre-COVID, movement on policies that impacted low-income people was an uphill battle. By thrusting millions into hardship, COVID forced politicians to listen to advocates and take immediate action."
"I was at home and immediately started looking around to figure out how to make two offices out of a one-bedroom house."
Meg Davidson
"The biggest challenge is not having personal contact with my colleagues. Also not being able to hug people."
Iris Fluellen
"Don’t let anxiety overcome you. People are willing to share what they have if you run out of resources and supplies, just ask around."
Johnny Lee
"Never in my career have I experienced a more profound threat of not having a safe work environment for workers or enough workers available to run the operations."
"The office staff started working from home about 80-90%. That completely changed how we support the staff."
Kenner Rawdon
"I miss the in-office shenanigans with my team. I also miss seeing large groups in the warehouse."
Katy McKnight
"Knowing that a lot of people were suffering and that they needed someone to fight for them kept me going."
Marchon Tatmon
"Everything just exploded. With everyone panic shopping there was no getting rice. There were so many challenges The money/infrastructure was gradual, but the need was immediate."
"I was at work when I first heard. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to continue our mission to feed people in the community,"
Joseph Hampton
"We already had been meeting to address our response efforts, but I don't think anyone expected a complete shut-down to come out of the blue like it did."
Michael Braude
"I was in the SF office, with previous expectations of this being a short-term crisis slowly but surely diminishing."
Adrian Tsang
"Being a small part of this very big operation to make sure people have access to healthy food. It means a lot to have found a meaningful role during such difficult times."
"The biggest challenge was keeping positive and optimistic when it sometimes seemed that everything was working to keep us down, as in everything!"
Bob Brenneman
"I'm absolutely loving being out in the community, being part of something positive and helpful that is happening amidst the chaos of the pandemic."
Louisa Cantwell
"This has been an extremely tough year. We need to acknowledge that over and over. Give each other grace."
Gunilla Bergensten
“I'm privileged to be employed in a necessary role. Therefore, I'm in a good position to help others going through more difficult circumstances, and support my colleagues.”
"It means a lot to find a meaningful role during such difficult times."
Mark Sisk
"Being able to help so many new people get CalFresh benefits and getting to know my staff's pets has kept me going."
Liliana Sandoval
"It's been so meaningful to be part of a team that is making such an incredible impact in our community."
Rajan Dev
"I was watching the news develop and a great sense of panic and anxiety started to grow. I also sensed that things wouldn’t be normal for a while because this was happening not just here, but globally."
"I am proud to be working for the Food Bank and grateful to all my partners for their hard work and dedication to ensuring families can safely access food!"
Patricia Madrigal
"I found solace in the strengthening connections that we're able to be made both professionally and personally."
Nadia Chargualaf
"Don't freak out about groceries and toilet paper."
Max Kramer
Thanks to you, the impossible seems possible. During the last year, a year with sky-rocketing food insecurity in the midst of the pandemic, you helped us make sure that neighbors didn’t go hungry. Food for millions of meals was distributed. We could not have done it without you.
As businesses begin to reopen and more vaccines are available, the one-year mark comes with a hope of things returning to “normal.” But we are far from normal when it comes to food security in our community. The increased need persists and will for months and years to come. We cannot accept a normal where people continue to wonder where their next meal will come from.
