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When shelter in place took effect, we received a number of calls from seniors who were afraid to leave the house to come to our programs. Our services are set up for large central distributions to efficiently serve as many people as possible, while also supplying partner agencies with food to support diverse groups of people. We quickly looked for ways to help our more vulnerable neighbors with food by offering drive-thru distributions. Without leaving their cars nearly 12,000 individuals since March have picked up emergency boxes of shelf-stable food and a bag of produce at sites around Contra Costa and Solano counties. With more people in need than ever, we knew there was more to be done.

Enter the County Proactive Outreach Task Force who identified seniors and immune-compromised people to receive our emergency food boxes. The Task Force includes members from Contra Costa Health Services, and community partners like Seneca Family of Agencies and Choice in Aging. More than 100 boxes were delivered on the first trip using County Connection buses and helpers like Choice in Aging Board Member, and PG&E employee, Vic Baker. 

One recipient said of the deliveries, “I received my two boxes and the process has been so simple and wonderful. The food lasts me around 4 days to a week…The canned vegetables and meat has been fantastic. Tell everyone in the program I say thanks!”

Leading the new fight on hunger

In the past two weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for our services. We anticipate that need will grow exponentially as schools remain closed and paychecks disappear. As a supporter of the Food Bank, we wanted to give you an inside look at what it’s like to lead in a crisis and adapt our services to the ever-changing new normal.

What have been your biggest obstacles in getting food out to the people who need it? Initially, the biggest obstacle we faced was the fact that many of our core volunteers are in a vulnerable age group and could no longer help. It has been incredible to see our calls to the community for more volunteers being answered. We also needed to implement new safety measures at hundreds of direct food distributions to make sure that staff, volunteers, and clients are maintaining social distancing. One way we achieved this was by developing drive-thru food pickups! Additionally, we continue to work closely with our vast network of partner agencies to help them stay open in order to maximize our collective outreach.

You started your new role as Programs Director on March 2nd. Two weeks into your job, our community was in a shelter in place. What has that been like?
It has been quite an onboarding for sure as COVID-19 presents unique challenges! Thankfully, my background in nonprofit leadership taught me to be resourceful and flexible when navigating whatever needs and obstacles arise. I also want to say I have felt so supported by everyone coming onboard in the midst of this crisis. The staff and volunteers here are so driven by the mission to serve others that they are willing to really go the extra mile to help out.

What might our supporters find surprising about the people attending our food distributions?
I remember meeting a woman at one of our Community Produce Program distributions who had just come from work as a cashier at a high-end specialty grocery store. She shared with me that she had just spent the day helping customers who were able to fill up their carts with food, but having fallen on hard times, she couldn’t afford to do the same. She was used to being a donor, not a recipient of Food Bank services. Her experience really resonated with me in how everyone’s situations are so fragile and with some bad luck or a layoff, anyone could be in a situation without enough food to eat. Sadly, more and more people are finding themselves in this woman’s shoes because of the economic impact of COVID-19.

Read more interviews from some of our leaders during this crisis:

• Hisham Hamdy – Operations Director
• Kim Castaneda – Development Director
• Joel Sjostrom – President and CEO
• Lisa Sherrill – Communications Director

Leading the new fight on hunger

In the past two weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for our services. We anticipate that need will grow exponentially as schools remain closed and paychecks disappear. As a supporter of the Food Bank, we wanted to give you an inside look at what it’s like to lead in a crisis and adapt our services to the ever-changing new normal.

What keeps you going during these uncertain times?
Things have been very stressful, but what motivates me is simply thinking about people going to bed hungry–especially children because I am a father. Being at a food distribution and seeing how excited some kids get over the opportunity to eat fruit–as though it’s Christmas–just makes me want to do more. Ensuring our staff and clients are safe also really drives me.

How have the last seven years at the Food Bank prepared you for something of this scale?
I have been in food banking for 20 years and honestly, nothing can fully prepare you for this. I’d say having prior strategies in place on how to best reach our hardest-hit communities is helpful and utilizing our established partnerships in the community is key!

You wear a lot of hats, from being in charge of warehouse operations in both Concord and Fairfield, to managing the technology needs of the organization, what have some of your challenges been?
Due to supply and demand, we’re running into many shipping delays for the food we are ordering. On the technology side–to keep our employees as safe as possible, we’re allowing those who can do their job from home to do so. That has required purchasing additional equipment and investing time getting those staff members up and running so we can continue our services.

Read more interviews from some of our leaders during this crisis:

• Nora Nicholson – Program Director
• Kim Castaneda – Development Director
• Joel Sjostrom – President and CEO
• Lisa Sherrill – Communications Director

Leading the new fight on hunger

In the past two weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for our services. We anticipate that need will grow exponentially as schools remain closed and paychecks disappear. As a supporter of the Food Bank, we wanted to give you an inside look at what it’s like to lead in a crisis and adapt our services to the ever-changing new normal.

The biggest fundraiser of the year, the Nourish Gala, had to be canceled this year due to the pandemic. How can our supporters help make up for that loss?
We are working on doing something special in May to fill that $200,000 gap in funding that we would normally raise at the gala, but we don’t have all the details yet. In the meantime, supporters can help by sponsoring boxes of emergency food for $20 each. This is the most effective and safest streamlined way for us to get groceries out into the community to handle the increase in demand due to COVID-19.

You’re in charge of both fundraising and our volunteers, describe what it feels like when those volunteer shifts fill up and donations come in.
I get to see beautiful things happen daily; people giving of themselves to help others is always uplifting and strengthens my faith in humanity. Our volunteers and donors make a real impact not only on our community but on me personally.

What keeps you up at night?
I think one of my biggest worries is what could happen in the next year or two. When the pandemic is no longer on people’s minds, will they forget about the need? I do believe our community and our organization can come out of this better and stronger, just based on what I have witnessed in the last several weeks.

Read more interviews from some of our leaders during this crisis:

• Nora Nicholson – Program Director
• Hisham Hamdy – Operations Director
• Joel Sjostrom – President and CEO
• Lisa Sherrill – Communications Director

Leading the new fight on hunger

In the past two weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for our services. We anticipate that need will grow exponentially as schools remain closed and paychecks disappear. As a supporter of the Food Bank, we wanted to give you an inside look at what it’s like to lead in a crisis and adapt our services to the ever-changing new normal.

How would you describe the mood at the Food Bank right now?
I think the overall mood is one of determination. There certainly remains concerns and even anxiety as we all face the dangerous challenges COVID-19 presents. With that said, I am grateful and proud to be part of this moment and I think I speak on behalf of our staff and volunteers when I say we are honored to be a beacon of hope during these tough times.

What kind of disaster planning was in place prior to COVID-19?
The Bay Area food banks have an Emergency Disaster Plan in place, but it was created more with earthquakes and wildfires in mind. In those situations, usually some food banks are functioning at normal capacity and could step in to help, and in fact, this Mutual Aid Agreement has been successfully activated in the past few years.  With COVID-19, we are all in the trenches and can’t help each other out physically, but we’re all sharing helpful information and strategies to best handle the new influx of clients.

Who else have you been working with to best meet the needs of our neighbors during this crisis?
The list is long, which is good, because we’re going to need all hands on deck for quite some time! Currently the National Guard has been helping box food in our Fairfield facility, the Mayor of Concord is helping us secure additional needed storage space, the California Association of Food Banks has rapidly increased availability on produce purchasing and Feeding America is expanding our ability to purchase and distribute more food. I am especially grateful for my partnerships with many other CEO’s in California with whom I Zoom regularly in sharing best practices and encouragement.

Read more updates from some of our leaders during this crisis:

• Nora Nicholson – Program Director
• Hisham Hamdy – Operations Director
• Kim Castaneda – Development Director
• Lisa Sherrill – Communications Director

Leading the new fight on hunger

In the past two weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for our services. We anticipate that need will grow exponentially as schools remain closed and paychecks disappear. As a supporter of the Food Bank, we wanted to give you an inside look at what it’s like to lead in a crisis and adapt our services to the ever-changing new normal.

What are some challenges your department faces?
Our biggest challenge has been keeping our supporters, clients, and partners updated with the most accurate information in a timely manner. We have to make sure the message they get from us is current and clear with things changing by the minute at times.

How does COVID-19 relief compare to other disasters the Food Bank has faced?
I’d say this one is most comparable to the Great Recession. In both cases, the need instantly increased. Many people would be surprised to know that it took 10 years AFTER the 2007 housing market crash for the need at the Food Bank to level off. Sadly, it’s predicted the COVID-19 recovery will also take years.

Working from home right now is for the greater good, but as millions of Americans are learning, it can be quite “different”. Describe your experience.
It takes extra effort to compartmentalize your work life from your personal life, but we’re all having to because it takes focus and teamwork to get food out the door. Yes, it can be challenging when your family members are at home with you (including my 5-year old son and two dogs running around), but if our local Bay Area broadcasters can get the news out from their living rooms, so can we!

Read more interviews from some of our leaders during this crisis:

• Nora Nicholson – Program Director
• Hisham Hamdy – Operations Director
• Kim Castaneda – Development Director
• Joel Sjostrom – President and CEO

We have called for your help and the response has been incredible. It gives us strength as we approach news ways of serving the community. Our number one goal right now is to continue operations. The Food Bank and our partners are really the grocery store for anyone in need right now. We are one of the few resources still open during this “shelter in place.”

There have been obstacles, but our team is committed to continuing our mission and we are kicked into high gear right now. As you are well aware, information is changing quickly, but here are some updates regarding our work getting food out into the community.

There will be supplemental distributions starting next week utilizing our first drive-thru food assistance method. We are so thankful for the volunteers who stepped up to put together 1,000 of our NEW emergency food boxes on Thursday!

All Food Bank programs are still running with some adjustments to meet social distancing measures.

To protect our elderly population who are especially vulnerable, we’re taking additional necessary precautions at Senior Food Program distributions.

We are facing many challenges as we know you are, but we remain steadfast in the work we’ve been doing and will be here for our community.

We know that the need will increase as more people are out of work. If you would like to join our efforts, a $20 donation will fill a whole emergency food box, visit foodbankccs.org/disaster today to help.