What We Do
Second Harvest Food Bank is the primary source of donated, surplus, and purchased food for nonprofit agencies in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.
In fiscal year 08-09 (July '08 - June '09), we distributed over 39.1 million pounds of nutritious food to low-income people in need in every zip code of our service area from Daly City to Gilroy, and from the ocean to the bay. This is a 13% increase over last year.
We provide food efficiently through our direct service programs (see Food Bank Programs below) and by collaborating with a network of 316 partner nonprofit agencies operating 445 programs at 834 different food distribution sites. Partner agencies include shelters, pantries, soup kitchens, children's programs, senior meal sites, and residential programs.
In fiscal year 08-09, volunteers contributed approximately 261,102 hours of service, which is equivalent to 126 full-time employees.
Who We Serve
In fiscal year 08-09, we served an average of 207,566 people per month. That was a 17% increase over the previous year, and the numbers are still rising. In the first half of fiscal year 09-10 (July - December 2009), we served an average of 236,000 people per month. The majority of people we serve are seniors and low-income families with children.
Food Bank Programs
Second Harvest operates direct service programs for seniors, families with children, and individuals:
- Family Harvest provides monthly food assistance to low-income families with children. An average of 18,980 individuals each month (representing 4,365 households) benefit from this program. The average monthly income for a participant family is $1,450.
- Brown Bag provides weekly food assistance to low-income seniors. An average of 14,608 individuals each week (representing 9,022 households) benefit from this program. The average monthly income for a senior household is $1,121.
- Kids NOW (Nutrition on Weekends) provides children ages 6-18 with an assortment of food items to take home every Friday. An average of 699 children are served weekly.
- Partners in Need (PIN) provides weekly food assistance to an average of 579 low-income Food Bank volunteers. The average monthly income for a participant family is $2,066.
- Produce Mobile delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to an average of 7,529 low-income households each month.
- Mobile Pantry delivers food to geographically-isolated communities and those with limited services. This program serves an average of 797 households each month.
We also help individuals find food assistance programs, learn about proper nutrition, and gain access to resources available to them:
- Food Connection Hotline makes an average of 3,326 referrals to local food assistance programs each month.
- Nutrition Education provides nutrition, health and food safety workshops to agencies and clients.
- Food Stamp Outreach helps eligible households apply for food stamps and receive benefits within days.