Advocacy Mission Statement
“Identify the root causes of hunger specific to our region while integrating the experiences and voices of our community members to most effectively advocate for sustainable change in our food systems to eliminate food insecurity”
Advocacy
Food banks play a critical role in ending hunger, but we can’t do it alone. The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano strategically engages in advocacy work to raise awareness and mobilize support to end hunger, improve economic security and promote health and well being for our community. This includes educating the public and policymakers about food insecurity and encouraging them to partner with us to improve access to healthy food.

Advocacy Awards
The Food Bank was inducted into Feeding America’s Advocacy Hall of Fame for 2020 and 2021 and earned a spot on Food Bank News’ Highest Honor Roll for excellence in advocacy in 2020 and 2021.
Hunger in Our Community
Why We Advocate
Public policy has an enormous impact on the resources the Food Bank is able to distribute, as well as the amount of assistance needed by our community. Ending hunger is not only about providing emergency food to people in need – it also means taking action and organizing to pass legislation that supports the Food Bank’s long-term strategies to ensure universal access to sufficient, affordable and nutritious food.
Advocates in Action
Community members with lived experience of hunger and passion for food security partner with us to lead informed and effective legislative advocacy. Meet some of our featured advocates:

Keva Dean

Hunger Fighter Award 2022

Gala Video 2022

Jenny Berten

Legislative Lunch 2021

Feeding America Conference

Tina Loyola-Cabral

Speaker Series 2022

Legislative Lunch 2021

Feeding America Conference
Anti-Hunger Policy Conference Session
Anti Hunger Policy
Our advocacy team and two community advocates led a 75-minute conference session at the 2022 Anti Hunger Policy Conference hosted by Feeding America and FRAC to an audience of 3,200 attendees on centering lived experience and equity for effective advocacy.

Speaker Series 2021

Legislative Lunch 2021

Speaker Series 2022
Join Us
Speaker Series
Our annual Advocacy training program for community members with lived experience and those passionate about ending hunger. This program aims to amplify the voices of those impacted by food insecurity and provide the tools to effectively advocate.
Community Advocacy Partnership (CAP)
Our Speaker Series graduates are invited to join this partnership as CAP members to advance the Food Banks’ mission of fighting hunger through the legislative process, while engaging in professional development.
Advocacy Internship
Current high school and higher education students have the opportunity to apply to join our advocacy team for our Advocacy Internship. For more details or to apply visit our Advocacy Internship page.
Partners in Advocacy
Elected Officials
We work directly with elected officials at the local, state and federal levels to ensure that the voices and experiences of our impacted community members are reflected in relevant public policy work.
Community Advocates
We have the honor of learning from and working with community members with lived experiences of hunger and those who are passionate about food security solutions. This qualitative insight guides our advocacy education and legislative steering. You can find details below about the many ways to be a community advocate.
Learn more about our current community advocates!
Partners
All that we achieve in advocacy is in-part due to our collective power. We are fortunate to have partnerships throughout our region, state and nation that make our work so effective.
For more information about Food Bank advocacy, contact Government and Public Affairs Manager Cassidie Carmen Bates at [email protected] or 925-334-2766.