OAKLAND, Calif. — This city is known for the Oakland A’s and its close proximity to San Francisco. However, the city is also known for its high poverty rate and the number of families who go to bed hungry each night. This is where the Alameda County Community Food Bank finds its mission.
Since 2005, the food bank has been feeding the hungry and food insecure through its 240-member agency. Volunteers flood the food warehouse everyday, eager to help package fresh meals to the needy. About 13,000 volunteers donate their time each year.
Tiffany Kang, communications coordinator for the food bank, handles the social media connections, answers the help line and packages fun and informative material to help her clients. Kang interacts with the clients and makes the time to learn the regulars, which is crucial.
“What’s important,” Kang said, “is understanding what kinds of needs they have.”
These can range from being short one meal to having no meals at all. The age range is also wide, although Kang said, “Over 50 percent of our clients are children.”
According to Oakland’s city data, the child poverty rate is 25.5 percent. Of these children, 55.4 percent are being raised by a single-mother household in which they have no way of purchasing enough food to feed themselves.
The food bank became aware of this and started forming relations with the local elementary and middle schools. These pairings provide children with food each day over the summer, too, for those normally dependent on the school’s free lunches.
Some children live in “food deserts,” in which they have access to convenience stores and gas stations but are miles away from a grocery store that sells fresh food. Fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than a bag of chips and a soda, which is a factor in the purchasing process.
“We talk to a lot of parents and kids who buy simply what is the cheapest,” Kang said.
Kang also said there is a direct tie between poverty and obesity. She hopes to diminish the rising obesity problem by distributing fresh food at a low cost. The food bank was also one of the first to stop distributing carbonated beverages.
“We’re getting our food directly through grocery rescue companies,” Kang said. Much of the produce is still good even if it’s misshapen or appears imperfect. But it has to be edible. “If an employee wouldn’t eat it, no one will eat it.”
The food bank doesn’t only distribute healthy food. It also specializes in nutritional education so citizens can learn how to purchase fresh goods without hurting their wallets. “A big part of the community here is nutritional education,” said Kang.
Along with nutritional education, the food bank is consciously aware of the different ethnic foods that they feel a need to provide for their diverse clients. They study where the different nationalities live and then distribute the food accordingly.
“There are ethnic enclaves where certain people dwell,” Kang said. For example, the food bank will donate ethnic foods like tofu to people who know how to cook and prepare it, she said.
Research is done at the food bank, but they make a point never to ask the clients or families anything personal about their situation. This provides the clients with a sense of identity security, which is a necessity when you are food insecure.
“The most we ask for is how big your household is and how many kids you have,” Kang said. “We are here to ask no questions and provide food.”
The no-questions-asked policy can seem risky. However, the food bank trusts that their clients are indeed in need of food.
“We treat all of our clients equally, no questions asked,” Kang said. “If you’re in line, you’re hungry.”
Recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Kang decided to chase the risky nonprofit organization path over the safe corporate life because of the difference she said she can make.
“My own family grew up on food stamps, so this is an area that’s very close to my heart,” Kang said, “and I’m fortunate enough to be able to buy what I need now .”