South Bay food bank scrambles to meet rising demand
SAN JOSE -- Volunteers and staff members at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley are moving fast this holiday season, doing their part to make sure Bay Area families don't go hungry.
"We here at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley are serving a half a million people every month. That's one in six people in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties," said Tracy Weatherby, VP of strategy and advocacy.
The need has grown this year, primarily due to the high cost of living in the region, according to CEO Leslie Bacho.
"In a recent survey of our clients, 70 percent of people said they weren't sure if they'd be able to pay their bills next month," she said. "Sixty percent of people had less than $100 in savings. We have so many people -- especially in low-wage jobs -- really struggling to be able to feed their families."
But, as the need has grown, Bacho says financial support hasn't grown with it.
"That's right. We have to raise $15 million by Dec. 31," she said. "Unfortunately, this year, we are receiving fewer donations than we were last year so we are really struggling to be able to get there. This is our most important fundraising time of the year."
Donations are down about 20 percent but Bacho says there is an incentive in place, now, that she hopes will help change that.
"Your gift will be doubled thanks to a generous match," she said. "This is a time where already, for every dollar donated, we can provide enough food for two meals. This doubles that to four meals for every dollar that you donate."
Weatherby says they provide healthy, good food to people in need.
"This is not your old-style food banking that people think about that is leftover cans of food. This is good, healthy food," she said. "We work with farmers across the state to provide at least 50 percent fresh produce to people. We also try and provide basics like rice, beans, milk, eggs and meat."
While the holidays are the most crucial time of the year, Weatherby says this is a year-round effort.
"People who are having trouble making ends meet, trying to get healthy food for their families – that's a 365 day a year kind of job. The food bank is always here," she said.
