OAKLAND, Calif. — Last week, my volunteer group and I had the opportunity to observe as well as participate in the work done at the Alameda County Community Food Bank. The food bank works with 240 agencies, including the Salvation Army, soup kitchens, and rehabilitation centers to distribute food to families in need. Approximately 13,000 volunteers serve each year in the fight against local hunger. Tiffany Kang, communications coordinator, manages social media, deals with reporters and writes for the website. “My own family grew up on food stamps so this area is close to my heart,” Kang said.
The food bank is seasonal-dependent operation, she said. There is always a large increase in demand around the holidays because of family gatherings and the universal desire to provide a nice holiday dinner. During summer, children who would usually receive free breakfasts or lunches at school often go without. More than 50 percent of the food bank’s clientele is children, so the staff has now created a mobile food pantry that can travel to libraries and schools. While the food bank treats everyone with respect, Kang said, and “all are equal, no questions asked,” if they need food, they make an effort to target some donations to different cultures as they try to think about what kinds of food people of different ethnicities would like to prepare and to eat. Grocery chains donate produce, healthy but often discolored or misshapen, as those fruits and vegetables are less likely to sell. The “purchasing power,” as Kang described it, is that for every $1 in donations, the food bank can distribute $4 worth of food.