San Francisco-Marin Food Bank

In order to best address both the chronic and emergency hunger faced by residents in San Francisco and Marin, the Food Bank has established a range of strategic food distribution, education and advocacy programs.

Pantry Network - Our flagship program is our neighborhood-based Pantry Network, which serves more than 30,000 households each week and accounts for 68% of our total food distribution. We initiated this innovative program several years ago after our local needs assessment revealed a critical need for food assistance among working poor families, along with a nearly complete lack of food distribution sites in accessible neighborhood locations.
Now grown to more than 250 sites across San Francisco and Marin, our Pantry Network brings food directly into the neighborhoods where it is most needed for free distribution to low-income families and individuals. Each pantry distribution contains 25-30 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, bread and other grains, juice, and a variety of cooking staples and snacks. Located in easily accessible locations like schools, churches and community-based organizations, the pantries eliminate many of the transportation obstacles presented by traditional meal service programs downtown. By providing groceries that can be prepared into meals at home, pantries have the added benefit of preserving a measure of autonomy, privacy and normalcy for people in need.

Based on extensive needs analysis, the Food Bank has developed six different pantry models that provide weekly groceries to targeted low-income populations:
- Healthy Children Pantries serve families with children at public schools and other family-friendly sites
- Neighborhood Grocery Network pantries are open to neighborhood residents
- Brown Bag sites reach low-income seniors
- Supportive Housing distributions take place at low-income housing sites
- Immigrant Food Assistance supplies groceries to low-income immigrants
- Community Food Partners reach families living in public housing

Each year, Food Bank program staff conduct a local needs assessment to determine target neighborhoods for new Pantry Network sites. Neighborhoods are chosen based on demographics, economic conditions and the existing availability of food assistance. Food Bank staff identify and establish potential pantry site partners, then provide ongoing technical assistance and monitoring to continually improve pantry performance.

Shopping Program: Enables over 300 nonprofit agencies to select from the Food Bank's supply of packaged groceries and fresh produce, allowing them to provide nutritious and culturally-appropriate food for their meal, snack and pantry programs.

Supplemental Food Program: Provides a monthly box of nutritious USDA food to over 11,000 low-income seniors, pregnant women, women up to one year postpartum, and children under the age of six.

Emergency Food Box Program: Provides a three-day emergency food supply to families and individuals in crisis.

Disaster Relief Program: Distributes emergency food supplies to low-income neighborhoods in the event of a citywide disaster.

Advocacy: Raises public awareness about the problem of hunger and helps mobilize support for government programs and policies that provide adequate nutrition for low-income people.