Andrew is a 2024 Speaker Series graduate, Community Advocate Partner, and the Donor Relations Manager at the Food Bank. Andrew embraces opportunities to advocate for policies that expand access to food benefits within California and nationally, and his advocacy insight stems from his work in fundraising. His Speaker Series story

Hannah is a 2024 Speaker Series graduate and a hunger-fighting volunteer at the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. Hannah enjoys volunteering at the distribution sites across Martinez because it gives her the opportunity to serve and interact with those in the neighborhood in which she resides. Hannah’s past

Dani Gabriel (they/them) is an activist and writer from the Bay Area. They hold an MFA from Mills College and have performed and published widely. Their work addresses themes of poverty and food insecurity among other topics. They are the former Poet Laureate of El Cerrito, California. You can learn

Geo is a proud Speaker Series 2024 Graduate and the Mobile Distributions Program Coordinator for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. His role as a hunger fighter is going out into the community to provide a nutritious variety of shelf-stable goods, fresh produce and frozen protein options through

JP is a 2024 Speaker Series graduate, a co-chair of the Food Bank’s Equity Allies committee, a first-generation college student, and a Mexican immigrant. Currently, in his role as CalFresh Coordinator and hunger fighter, he helps college students and non-citizens apply, troubleshoot, and access the CalFresh benefits they are entitled

Willie has been a longtime Hunger Fighter and Food Bank employee. His journey started as a single parent of two looking to volunteer to meet his requirements to receive assistance for his family. His volunteer work soon turned into employment, and he has been able to grow, learn and contribute

Dawn is a proud Speaker Series 2023 graduate and Hunger Fighter at the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. She is currently the Food and Fund Drive Coordinator, connecting with the community to coordinate food drives and virtual food drives of all sizes. Dawn is also a co-chair of

Bryan is a Hunger Fighter at the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. He is a CalFresh Outreach Program Coordinator who assists individuals and families through the application process for the EBT card while providing additional resources. Bryan also has experience as a Street Outreach Coordinator in Livermore (2021-2022),

Daryl holds a deep sense of gratitude towards the individuals who have supported him throughout his life journey, both those familiar to him and those forever anonymous. Firmly rooted in the principle of paying it forward — he draws upon the compassion and generosity he has personally encountered. Daryl’s background

Hailey has been a part of the Food Bank’s advocacy team since 2023. Her passion for poverty alleviation, as well as her lived experience of houselessness and food insecurity, is what brought her to where she is now. Her major in political science and minor in global poverty at UC

Keva Dean is a Food Bank 2021 Speaker Series graduate and a CAP member who is actively advocating to end hunger in our community and beyond. While participating in the Speaker Series, she found her passion for food as medicine — the concept that food is a human right because

Jenny is a Food Bank 2021 Speaker Series graduate, Community Advocacy Partner, and Board Member who welcomes opportunities to advocate for college hunger and food as medicine. Jenny is a Nurse at Saint Mary’s College of California, where she sees firsthand how food insecurity negatively impacts a student’s physical health