Donate Food
Each year, Californians send nearly six million tons of food waste to the landfill, while 1 in 4 people in Silicon Valley is at risk of food insecurity. Donating food redirects edible food that would otherwise go to waste to the thousands of local families in our neighborhoods who don’t have enough to eat.
In addition to meeting the requirements of SB 1383*, partnering with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley offers a range of benefits.
Senate Bill 1383, is a state law designed to reduce the disposal of organic waste in landfills, including food, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat harmful pollution.
SB 1383 places food generators into two tiers:
Tier 1
• Wholesale food vendor
• Food distributor
• Food service provider
• Grocery store or supermarket
Tier 2
• Hotel with an on-site food facility
• Restaurant facility
• Health provider with an on-site food facility
• State agency cafeteria
• Agency with an on-site food facility
• Large venue or event
Questions about SB 1383 compliance? Get in touch with our team today.
Backyard produce
We accept bagged or boxed backyard produce at our Cypress, Bing and Curtner Warehouses Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Please ensure that produce has no leaves or stems, is free of pests, and is in good condition with no bird or other damage.
If you have more than a few bags, please contact our Food Sourcing team to assist. If you need assistance harvesting your backyard produce please contact Village Harvest at 888-378-4841.
Prepared foods
While we are not able to accept prepared or catered foods, we can connect you with one of our local partner agencies or direct you to the MealConnect platform.
Walk-in donations
While we no longer have collection barrels available in the community, Second Harvest is accepting donations of unexpired, nonperishable food at our Cypress, Bing and Curtner warehouses Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
All walk-in donations should go through the front office. For any bulk food donations, please contact the Food Sourcing team to coordinate delivery.
• Canned tuna, chicken or salmon
• Canned fruit in juice or water
• Canned vegetables, low or no sodium
• Canned low sodium meals (soup, stew chilis)
• Canned foods with pop-top lids
• Olive or canola oil
• Spices (cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, salt-free spice blends)
• Low-sugar whole grain cereals
• Healthy snacks (granola bars, nuts, dried fruit)
• Rice and dry beans
• Peanut butter
Questions?
Call our Food Sourcing team at 408-266-8866, ext. 102
Send us an email at fooddonor@shfb.org
FAQs
The best way to support our work is to make a monetary donation, start a virtual food drive or volunteer. However, we know some people prefer the option to make a tangible donation of food items to Second Harvest, and we deeply appreciate your generosity. We accept walk-in food donations only. If you have unopened, unexpired nonperishable items to donate, we will accept them at three of our warehouses (Bing Center in San Carlos, Cypress Center in North San Jose and Curtner Center in South San Jose) on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please no glass containers.
We are happy to assist you in launching a virtual food drive or connect you to volunteer opportunities.
We accept walk-in donations of unopened, unexpired nonperishable items. Please, no glass containers or prepared food. We do not accept donations of produce.
Our most-needed food items are:
– Canned tuna, chicken or salmon
– Peanut butter
– Meals in a can (soup, stew chili)
– Low-sodium canned vegetables
– Canned fruit in its own juice or water
– Olive or canola oil
– Spices (cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, salt-free spice blends)
– Canned foods with pop top lids
– Low-sugar whole grain cereals
– Healthy snacks (granola bars, nuts, dried fruit)
– Rice and dry beans
We also accept donations of other items that can benefit our clients, including:
– Toiletries (all new and sealed), including:
– Toothpaste
– Toothbrushes in original package
– Soap and shampoo
– Feminine hygiene products
– Baby formula (cannot be expired and ideally with a minimum of 3 months of use remaining)
– Diapers
– Paper towels
– Toilet paper
– Reusable tote bags
– Laundry detergent
If you have additional questions about food donations, please contact our Food Sourcing team at 408-266-8866, ext. 102.
We have ended our community food drive program. After a thorough analysis, we concluded the cost and labor required to sustain the program was too expensive for the food bank to manage. The majority of the food we source is donated by growers, retailers and manufacturers, and the rest we are able to acquire through bulk purchasing at prices far below retail. By sourcing large quantities of food at a time, we can control the variety and quality of items we get, process them more quickly and efficiently, and ensure our clients get a consistent mix of nutritious food.
The best way to support our work is to make a monetary donation, start a virtual food drive or volunteer. We are happy to assist you in launching a virtual food drive or connect you to volunteer opportunities.
We have ended our food drive program and are no longer collecting food in the community. After a thorough analysis, we concluded the cost and labor required to sustain the program is more expensive for the food bank to manage than acquiring the food ourselves.
We accept walk-in food donations of unopened, unexpired nonperishable items at three of our warehouses (Bing Center in San Carlos, Cypress Center in North San Jose and Curtner Center in South San Jose) on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please no glass containers.
If you have additional questions about food donations, please contact our Food Sourcing team at 408-266-8866, ext. 102.