Happy New Year! What a year it has been. The year 2021 has come to a close, but the challenge of hunger within our community continues. The Emergency Food Bank is thankful to the community for it's generosity in donating food over the holidays, as thousands of individuals participated in the November and December Holiday Dinner giveaway events this year. The Food Bank staff, community volunteers and donors are all working together to make this year, 2022, a better year for our neighbors who are suffering from food-insecurity. We want you to remember that YOU ARE ESSENTIAL when it comes to fighting hunger within the community. We don't know what the year 2022 will bring, but we do know the following: Unemployment will continue. Food and gas prices will remain high. People will continue to turn to the Emergency Food Bank for help. The Emergency Food Bank WILL continue be here for the community, just like it has been for the past 54 years. The unwavering support of the San Joaquin County is what keeps our doors open. THANK YOU. As we begin the year 2022, let us remember that we ... By Stockton Food Bank 0 0 Comment Read More »
August 2021: CEO Message - Leonard O. Hansen Ph.D August has proven to be a hot month, hot from fires, from weather, from news topics... and a month where food is in hot demand. Of course, the uptick in demand began in March of 2020, but there hasn't been much slowing since then. Just last week, at 11:30am, there was still a line well downtime second block of West Scotts Avenue. In fact, a few times we stayed open past noon to clear the line the best we could. We are grateful for volunteer groups that aid with the distribution, without them, well, we don't want to imagine that scenario. Thank you Victory Outreach Church, North Stockton Rotary Club, Abbott Fund, Latter Day Saints, Central Valley Community Bank and more! Every month we are low on volunteers, but then these organizations show up and answer our needs. Thank you! We love seeing return volunteers and new organizations each month. As for the heat from fires, August has been busy with fires across the state, as well as along our fence line. We are grateful for security and Jimmy, the two ... By Heather Mompean 0 0 Comment Read More »
July 2021: CEO Message - Leonard O. Hansen Ph.D So many things to share! Starting off with our social media mix. We are current and topical in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It’s great to tell our story so well! It’s good to work as a team and develop a routine for sharing pictures, captions, news, and pushing initiatives. It raises “top of mind” awareness! It was time for Annual Inventory at the fiscal year end. Our Accountants from Schwartz, Giannini came out to observe and test. The work of Jimmy, Ryan and Joe, as well as others, was immense as we prepared the warehouse for counting. The tests came out well, verifying accuracy. Ryan will be leading our audit again this year and as we completed the June 30th statement, Kathy will work with him to finish the audit, file to 990, and close out the fiscal year. Job well done! A few repairs were needed this July. We had our box truck worked on in a number of ways, but it has since been returned to us, running well after a $3,052.84 tally for the work. We have had a close shave early in July ... By Heather Mompean 0 0 Comment Read More »
June 2021: CEO Message - Leonard O. Hansen Ph.D The heat is on this June! Walk outside, even before noon, and you can see heat radiating off the carts and the pavement during distribution, but everyone worked hard (and carefully) in the heat to provide food to those in need. Happy to share that our staff member, Jimmy, has saved us some money by coordinating a donation of 12,000 free cardboard boxes. That donation has saved the cost of the heavy-mil plastic bags! Big thank you to Jimmy and the donor! Ready, Set, TV! We had Fox 40 TV volunteers here as a group Thursday, including their General Manager. It is a developing partnership as Fox 40 is a major sponsor for the upcoming Run Against Hunger. How incredible to not only support us from afar by providing coverage on the tv waves, but also to come to our facility and give time and muscle to our distribution process! Thank you Fox 40 TV! We have several projects we are working on in Admin: Monday Alex and Emily were part of a large group ZOOM meeting with the Los Angeles Food Bank as they are exploring how to create and ... By Heather Mompean 0 0 Comment Read More »
May 2021: CEO Message - Leonard O. Hansen Ph.D Many tasks are organized and completed early each morning to set up for distribution at the Main Pantry and for moving product out of the Food Bank to our Partners. Food intake and distribution is robust. For instance, Jimmy received a call out of the blue that C&S Wholesale Grocers had several pallets of candy and grocery to donate; they noted the Second Harvest had not picked this shipment up. He stepped up smartly having Carl at C&S Grocery Warehouse at 6AM in morning, as agreed, and he returned with many items. Nimble and responsive work and it counts! Jimmy balances among many partners and needs; like when he has a meet-up in the early morning with the Gospel Center Rescue Mission. We help whenever and wherever we can. There is a Federal Food Cliff coming at the end of this month as the USDA is ending its Box Program that has run since last May. We moved up to 2200 boxes a week, which grew, over time, to 35 pounds, including milk, eggs, protein, grocery, and fresh produce. There is a much smaller TEFAP program that will still be available ... By Heather Mompean 0 0 Comment Read More »
April 2021: CEO Message - Leonard O. Hansen Ph.D We began this week with our new NCCC AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers arriving at the Emergency Food Bank. Ten willing and motivated Volunteers in the Program. Much work was accomplished by Jimmy, Rebecca, and our staff to secure a third group and find donated housing (found through Peter Ragsdale at the Housing Authority in San Joaquin County. They will be here through July 12th and we are grateful. Also, I’ve arranged for Peter Ragsdale and his team to visit the Food Bank; he and I believe we have several areas of partnership to develop; welcome news for our organization! On Tuesday, one of the NCCC’s big jobs was distributing to the Door Dash folks. Door Dashers take our food out for delivery to the 337 clients we serve through 211 Family Resources and Referral. It was a well done distribution, wrapping up in less than 90 minutes! We are a quick and efficient bunch. There are inconvenient hurdles in a business week; we roll with the punch and keep on going. For instance, when we had a plumbing problem. No worries, a team of hard working professionals ... By Heather Mompean 0 0 Comment Read More »
March 2021: CEO Message - Leonard O. Hansen Ph.D Spring brings renewal this year in many ways as we work our way out of the Pandemic Year. Here at the Food Bank we are busy with food donations, sorting and distribution - plentiful donations as of lately. The National Guard has been coming to the front of our line to mange the "Touchless Tailgate" distribution, emptying the full bins of donated food that Jimmy and his crew always have ready. We are fortunate to have the National Guard members here at the Emergency Food Bank. The current term will run through September 30 of this year, 2021. Our NCCC AmeriCorps VISTA group of 9 hardworking members has moved on this week to another assignment, so we're sparsely populated the last few days. We have made several moves within the City and many of the Churches and Agencies we know to find housing for the incoming Third Group of NCCC. Peter Ragsdale of the Housing Authority confirmed that we may have housing within the City, a meeting is scheduled to complete those arrangements. We also had a truckload of pallets from Trader ... By Heather Mompean 0 0 Comment Read More »
February 2021: CEO Message - Leonard O. Hansen Ph.D The EFB created a new food distribution path in the last few weeks, placing a Pop-Up Pantry in a charted Homeless Encampment each Wednesday. We are working in partnership with United Way and the CARES Act to reach out with non-perishable, easy-to-use food for homeless clients in Stockton. View the video by clicking this link to see one of the Pop-Up Pantries, serving about 175 clients. In 2021, the EFB is the operational and educational partner for Abbott Fund and the Public Health Institute. This 6-month project will provide food boxes, food menus and nutrition education through online ZOOM instruction to 400 residents with diabetes in two Stockton neighborhoods. The project includes referrals from Community Medical Centers, El Concilio and Dr. Kwabena Adubofour’s clinic. Alex Marapao and Emily Simpson, our Nutrition Educators are deeply involved and excited to be a central part in the creation and execution of this project. There is resolve on Abbott Fund’s part to move the Project into 2022, expanding the reach to 1,000 residents. The COVID-19 Pandemic continues to challenge the EFB with a greater demand for food distribution. As we are creating ... By Heather Mompean CEO, Message, Newsletter 0 0 Comment Read More »
Calling All Volunteers Give the gift of your time, talents, and skills as an Emergency Food Bank volunteer and have a direct impact on the front lines of hunger. Volunteering is a great way to make friends, learn something new and have fun while fighting hunger in our community. Organize a group of family, friends or co-workers and dedicate a morning to making difference. Give us a call to learn more or go straight to completing our volunteer form located on our Volunteer Page to set a date to join us at our Food Pantry. By Heather Mompean Volunteer 0 0 Comment Read More »
Pick up your 2019 Run Against Hunger T-Shirts TODAY! Did you participate in the 2019 Run Against Hunger? Did you not receive a T-shirt? Good news! The replacement Run Against Hunger T-shirts are now availalbe for pick up at the Emergency Food Bank. Stop by today at 7 West Scotts Avenue between the hours of 9am and 2pm to pick you your T-shirt today! By Alesha Pichler 0 0 Comment Read More »