Our response to COVID-19
The safety and well-being of our clients, volunteers and staff is our top priority.
As our community responds to the COVID-19 outbreak, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley remains committed to our mission knowing that our most vulnerable community members are deeply and disproportionately impacted by public crises such as this. We are in ongoing communication with our partners, staff and volunteers to maintain safe practices that will ensure nutritious food continues to flow into the community.
On Monday, March 16, 2020 food banks were officially named by the California Department of Public Health as an essential service provider. Because of this important inclusion in the CDPH’s guidelines, we expect to remain fully operational so we can continue serving our community.
As the crisis continues, we expect to see an increase in need as community members are furloughed, losing hourly wages and forced to deplete savings while still providing for their family. At Second Harvest, we are fortunate to have a community of supporters who are asking, “How can I help right now?”
Donations
If you are able to provide support financially, donations can be made online.
Corporate donations
Marvell is challenging local companies to innovate with them and donate creatively to serve the community.
Volunteering
We are still reliant on a volunteer workforce to help us pre-box and distribute food to the community. If you are in good health and you have time, you can sign up for a shift here. You can also find a list of partner agencies that we work with who also need help at their distributions.
Thank you for supporting us now and always. We couldn’t do this important work without you.
Health and safety precautions
We are following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help stop the spread of germs and have posted their guidelines in public areas as a reminder to those coming to the food bank. In addition, we have always done the following to safeguard volunteers at our facilities:
- Ask that anyone not feeling well please cancel and join us another time
- Require all volunteers to wash hands and use gloves at all times, which we provide
Increased cleaning and sanitization processes
The health, safety and well-being of our employees, volunteers and clients is a top priority. Our three warehouse locations are cleaned and sanitized daily as part of our regular business practices, and in response to this crisis we have increased the frequency and extent of those cleanings, which includes:
- Maintaining the safe practices we adhere to as a normal course of operations 365 days a year.
- Increasing the frequency of cleaning of high-touch surfaces, including counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, etc.
- Installing hand sanitizer dispensers throughout each of our facilities in high-volume areas including breakrooms, conference rooms and lobbies.
- Posting informational flyers related to COVID-19 risk reduction/awareness in each of our facilities, including in restrooms.
Some of the ways we are addressing safety at our distributions include:
- Keeping our partners and volunteers informed
- Reminding everyone of the safe food handling rules we follow 365 days a year
- Requiring that gloves be worn for all tasks, and changed if a volunteer or staff member touches their face or uses their phone
- Providing informational resources from the CDC and Public Health Department
- Distributing the CDC’s “Stop the Spread of Germs” posters (in multiple languages) to all of our partners and distribution sites
Social distancing
One of the best ways to protect our volunteers and staff is by enforcing social distancing practices. We have increased our volunteer management floor staff at our facilities to ensure that while sorting and boxing is happening, all participants maintain six feet of distance between each other.
Given health concerns and public gathering regulations, we are providing resources for partner agencies. In addition to social distancing (keeping six feet in between all people at the distribution), we have also adapted our distributions by:
- Pre-boxing food in our warehouse to reduce the amount of touches between volunteers and clients on site, and to move the line more quickly.
- Allowing family/friends to pick up food on behalf of those who are unable to attend because of increased risk factors.
- Encouraging partners to consider moving their distribution outdoors and/or establishing a drive-through system.
As this situation continues to evolve, we are prepared to adapt our approach and shift our operations to maintain a safe environment for everyone.
FAQs
