Blog - Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano

Meet our new Communications Director

April 6, 2021 By Jenny

We are excited to introduce our new Communications Director, Diana Brennan, who joined the Food Bank family in February. Diana brings with her more than 20 years of experience in communications and marketing at Sonoma Raceway, so it makes sense that she’s done an amazing job at “getting up to speed.”

We sat down with Diana and conducted a little Q&A session, so you all could get acquainted with the newest member of the Food Bank’s leadership team.

CATEGORY: WORK-RELATED

Have there been any surprises so far?
I’m simply blown away by the size and scope of the Food Bank’s work. I’ve been a long-time donor, but I really had no idea how many different ways they serve the community every day.

What’s the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is doing something I love professionally (communications and public relations) and applying it to support a cause and organization that I believe in personally – ending hunger.

What are you looking forward to?
I’m most excited to get more hands-on experience with all the Food Bank does. I’ll be there for our first in-person fundraiser since 2019, the Nourish Gala Drive-in to End Hunger, and I can’t wait to get out to visit more of our food distribution sites and partner agencies to get to know the people we serve!

CATEGORY: OFF-THE-CLOCK

Do you have any guilty pleasures?
I’m a sucker for Taylor Swift’s two newest albums.

What’s on your podcast playlist?
I absolutely love podcasts! I always have a handful ready to listen to on a walk or long drive. My go-to’s are “This American Life,” “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” and any of the serial-format true crime stories.

What is your must-see TV?
Binging “The Great British Bake-Off” got me through the early months of the pandemic.

What do you do for fun?
I love walking, yoga and barre classes for fitness and hiking with my husband and son. I’ve also become an avid ice hockey mom since my son started playing a few years ago (go Vacaville Jets!).

CATEGORY: THE SPEED ROUND

Bakery or ice-cream parlor? Ice cream

Coffee or tea? Both most days

Books or Audible? Books

Camping or glamping? Glamping

Thanks for taking the time to get to know Diana a bit; she can be reached at [email protected].

Expanding to Meet the Need

April 5, 2021 By Diana Brennan

This year will bring a major milestone in the Food Bank’s ability to serve the growing needs of our community, as we relocate our Solano County facility to the expanded warehouse space at 2370 North Watney Way in Fairfield (just a half-mile from our existing facility, next to the Jelly Belly Factory).

The Food Bank has grown dramatically over the past seven years, most recently in response to COVID-19, which brought shelter-in-place, staggering unemployment, a recession, remote learning and another unprecedented fire season. Despite utilizing four off-site storage sites beyond our existing warehouses in Concord and Fairfield, our facilities are bursting at the seams and we have occasionally been forced to decline large-scale food donations due to lack of cold storage space.

We are incredibly optimistic about the opportunities this move affords us. Our goal, as always, is to grow and serve our neighbors in need while we lead the fight to end hunger. -Joel Sjostrom, President and CEO

The new facility provides 104,000 square feet of office and warehouse space, versus our present space of 29,000. This expansion will allow us to continue our commitment to efficiently and safely meet the increased demand for food over the long haul. While record-setting need has helped drive the necessity for this move, record-setting donations and a strong financial forecast have paved the way to make it possible.

The coming months will be incredibly busy as our team works on permitting and constructing a large cold storage unit, installing racks, and building out office space and the Volunteer Center.

Join us for a volunteer shift in our new space today!

The dramatic increase in storage capacity will allow us to:

Consolidate all off-site storage spaces for more efficient delivery and distribution.
Provide 8,600 square feet of cold storage, which will allow us to accept considerably more perishable food donations.
Keep ready-to-eat food and water on hand to improve our disaster response readiness.
Enhance the volunteer experience with a brand-new Volunteer Center.
Meet years-old capacity and expansion goals.

MealConnect Provides Solution for Surplus Food

March 12, 2021 By Jasmina Breen

The USDA estimates 30% to 40% of our national food supply goes to waste each year. That waste amounts to 72 billion pounds of perfectly edible food sitting in landfills– enough food to feed roughly 2 billion people. Yet, 1.5 million people here in the Bay Area and 35 million people across the country worry about where their next meal will come from.

How can we fix a broken system that allows so much to go to waste when so many are in need? Feeding America has created a solution with MealConnect, an app developed to reduce waste by delivering surplus food to neighbors in need.

All 200 Feeding America network food banks are automatically enrolled in the platform’s database, allowing folks anywhere in the country to donate excess food to local nonprofits. Anyone with food to give, from restaurants to retailers and growers, can use MealConnect to turn would-be waste into a win for the community. Upon logging in to the free app on any smartphone or computer, donors can post their surplus food and coordinate with a local food bank on pick-up.

Donations made through MealConnect are tax-deductible and the app offers a built in tax benefit calculator. Within the app users can also find information on donation guidelines and view live tracking of deliveries.

For a quick overview of how the app works, please see our MealConnect fact sheet. If you’re interested in the opportunity to fight hunger while reducing waste, visit https://mealconnect.org/ to learn more or download the app to get started today!

Food Bank enters Advocacy Hall of Fame

February 16, 2021 By Cassidie Bates

We are honored to have recently been inducted into Feeding America’s 2020 Advocacy Hall of Fame. As stated by Feeding America, the Advocacy Hall of Fame is a year-long contest that challenges Feeding America network members to complete a set of advocacy tasks before the end of the year. Members of Feeding America’s Advocacy Hall of Fame will have their food bank’s name prominently displayed on a plaque in Feeding America’s DC office.

To be inducted into the Advocacy Hall of Fame, member organizations must excel in six categories:

Communicate with Member of Congress at least 11 times a year
Work with California State Assembly and Senate Members at least 11 times a year
Collaborate with grassroots supporters at least 6 times per year
Collaborate with grasstops supporters at least 6 times per year
Engage with local, state and national media at least 6 times per year
Educate and mobilize local partner organizations on our policy issues at least 6 times per year

Thank you for helping us achieve this recognition!

Chevron Community Cookbook

February 9, 2021 By Jasmina Breen

Every year Chevron employees give hundreds of hours in volunteer time. With company COVID-19 protocols, in-person shifts were out of the question in 2020. In addition to generous sponsorships and care packages for our frontline staff, the team at Chevron wanted to find new ways to help.

This is their contribution–a collection of family and favorite recipes to share with our clients and supporters.

We hope you enjoy these recipes and share photos of your meals with us on Instagram @foodbankccs.

Chevron Recipe Book

5 ways to a happier 2021

January 12, 2021 By Jenny

Need a mental health boost? We get it! A lot of things feel out of our control, but there are things you can do to feel engaged and connected to one another–while remaining safe! Here are five ways to make 2021 a happier year for you AND the people who turn to the Food Bank!

VOLUNTEER: The act of volunteering helps counteract the effects of stress, anger, anxiety and depression, improves self-confidence and provides a sense of purpose.
BE SOCIAL: Follow us on social media at @foodbankccs and see with your own eyes the good work being done in our community! It’s good for restoring your faith in humanity.
BRING OUT THE BEST IN OTHERS: Encourage your friends, families and colleagues to get involved in their community by starting a food drive. By nature, most people want to help, and sometimes all they need is a call to action and a little nudge.
ENTER OUR RECIPE CHALLENGE: Submit a healthy 10-ingredient-or-less recipe to the Food Bank at [email protected] and it could be featured in an upcoming edition of REfresh. You just might become Food Bank famous!
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR: Check on your neighbors, friends and family and if they are struggling financially, let them know about resources available to them at foodbankccs.org/getfood.

A New Year’s Message from our CEO

January 4, 2021 By Joel Sjostrom

Most of us are happy to have 2020 in our rearview mirror, but honestly, many of its challenges, as they relate to hunger, are going to continue to be a part of the narrative for 2021. One good thing about the year-that-shall-not-be-named is that the long-standing issue of hunger in America is now in the national spotlight. Hunger is often highlighted during the holidays, but it’s actually a year-round national crisis. Now that hunger is in the headlines, we must help fill the immediate need, while also creating long-lasting changes.

There isn’t a vaccine for hunger, so it will take us all working together to make this a better year for our food-insecure neighbors. When it comes to fighting hunger, don’t forget that YOU ARE ESSENTIAL.

We can’t be sure of how everything will play out in 2021, but we are certain of a few things:

Unemployment and underemployment will remain.
Inequities in food access will still exist.
We will have to contend with another fire season.
People will continue to turn to the Food Bank for help.
The Food Bank WILL be there for our community, just like it has been for the past 45 years.

As we move forward, let’s bring with us the biggest lesson learned last year: we can achieve incredible feats when we work together! You answered our call for help time and time again and it’s this unwavering support that keeps us going.

As opportunities to be a part of the solution present themselves this year, we encourage you to act upon them because there is still a lot left to do.

What do you say? Let’s roll up those sleeves, pull up those bootstraps and get to work!

Joel Sjostrom
President and CEO
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano

The impact of your kindness

December 8, 2020 By Jenny

What does a single mom of five children, a man being treated for blood cancer and a college student in his 50’s all have in common?

They are among the 270,000 of our neighbors you have been nourishing through this pandemic.

The single mom? She recently shared with us, “This food is the main reason why my kids and I are able to eat so well–especially because of the fresh produce. I no longer have to go hungry so my kids can eat.”

The man with blood cancer? He was “very concerned about bringing home the virus” because he’s immunocompromised. He found our new contactless drive-thru distributions to be “very helpful.”

Oh, and the non-traditionally-aged college student? He’s graduating this month with his bachelor’s degree and described the food he received as being “pivotal” to his success!

When you support the Food Bank, you’re not just feeding your neighbors–you are reducing their stress levels, improving their health and allowing them to better cope with whatever challenges they are facing.

Your ongoing kindness is reassuring our clients–both old and new–that even though we may be apart, they are not alone!

What’s best: Traditional or Virtual Food Drives?

December 8, 2020 By Jasmina Breen

Virtual fundraising has become our main priority thanks to the ease and effectiveness of online giving during socially-distanced times. However, we ARE still accepting traditional food drive donations and here’s why.

Traditional food drives are a good way to get kids involved.

Traditional food drives serve as a great way to nurture the next generation of hunger fighters. A hands-on approach allows kids to feel more connected to giving. It’s hard to explain conceptually to a 5-year old that you’re fighting hunger from behind a computer screen. However, the memory of collecting food and dropping donations off at the Food Bank can make a lasting impact on a child.

Traditional food drives provide variety to our clients.

We distribute the food received through traditional food drives with the help of our partner agencies. The clients really enjoy receiving different types of food than our bulk purchasing typically allows. More variety means a more diverse diet!

Our warehouses have implemented strict COVID safety protocols to ensure donated items are safe and sanitized before reaching our clients. Our volunteers are given thorough instructions on how to properly wipe down food items and are required to wear gloves at all times.

Reminder–when donating to a traditional food drive, refrain from including glass containers or homemade items.

During these pressing times, we appreciate your show of support in any form. Monetary donations and virtual food drives are especially impactful, but traditional food collections serve as a great alternative or additional way to get involved. Check out our Food Drive FAQ for further information.

Volunteers are Essential

December 7, 2020 By Rachel

Dear Rachel,

The Food Bank continues to be an essential service that will remain fully operational through the current shut-down to ensure everyone in our community has access to nutritious food.

We want to reassure you that the safety of our volunteers, staff and clients are our top priority. The Food Bank is following requirements from the CDC and local public health authorities that will allow us to continue operating as an essential service. Here are a few of the safety measures we’ve been implementing:

Mandatory face coverings at all food distributions and inside our facilities
Limiting the number volunteers for each shift and practicing social distancing
Increasing the already high standard of cleanliness in our facilities

With the need for our services skyrocketing, volunteers like you are essential to meeting the increased needs of the 270,000 people we are serving monthly. Our ability to continue providing food to the community at this level relies heavily on our volunteer support.

Our community food distributions and volunteer needs are not canceled but we understand if you would like to reschedule your upcoming volunteer shift. Please give us 48 hours notice if you are unable to volunteer so we have adequate coverage. Changes can be made here on your volunteer portal account foodbankccs.org/volunteer.

Sincerely,
Your Food Bank Family

The dramatic increase in storage capacity will allow us to:

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