Former NY foodie now procuring tons of food for Second Harvest Food Bank

SAN JOSE -- Second Harvest of Silicon Valley feeds hundreds of thousands of people every month, an effort that is literally a labor of love.

But this love takes planning and coordination to make sure food is not only available but customized to culture.

"Everyone can relate to food we all have to eat. It's a way to learn about different cultures, history about you know, the importance of food as medicine," Emily Acosta told KPIX.

Acosta turned her passion for food into a career, first as an award-winning cheesemonger in New York to a member of the food sourcing team at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.

"Food was one of the ways that I really connected with my Cuban identity," Acosta explained. "My mom was always cooking arroz con pollo, different types of beans. So, it was just a really important part of connecting with that part of my heritage."

Her work heals and nourishes. Most days she is busy sorting and evaluating food to make sure it's fresh and table ready.

"One of the really important things to me in sourcing produce is looking for items that are culturally specific and culturally relevant for the very diverse communities that we serve," said Acosta. "So when we have the opportunity to get things like avocados or bok choy, or poblano peppers or specialty cabbage, I'm always on the hunt for those kinds of items so that folks can use them and create those kind of memories for themselves and their families."

Each day she secures thousands of pounds of food, a labor of love that started during the pandemic.

"I started volunteering at a distribution center that was close to my house," Acosta added. "At that time, Second Harvest was just starting to do these massive drive-thru distributions early in the pandemic and 2020 and it just made me realize there's a huge need out there and I could be doing more."

More than half the food that Second Harvest distributes is fresh produce.

"When I initially started in this food sourcing produce sourcing role, I thought that my experience with cheese, which is another perishable item, would be really relevant because managing perishable inventory is really specific," Acosta said.

Specific with an eye to quality and detail, because detail in food is love.

"At the end of the day, we are feeding our neighbors, and that's just something that's super important to me."