Irene and family volunteering at a food distribution in East Palo Alto.
Supporting local food security programs
Have you ever thought about how you would cope if you were struggling to access or afford your next meal? What if your cabinets were empty and you could not feed your children? Or if your grandmother wasn’t able to buy groceries to sustain her health?
The grim reality is that 28 percent of households in Silicon Valley do not earn enough money to meet their most basic needs, even though the region is home to immense wealth and opportunity.
But there is help. The Palo Alto Community Fund (PACF), thanks to the generosity of our donors, supports vital organizations that step up to assist those facing food insecurity in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. In 2023, we granted a total of $110,000 to eight local nonprofits feeding the hungry. These organizations are often making it possible for our neighbors to avoid unthinkable tradeoffs, such as feeding their families versus paying for life-saving medications or their rent.
PACF is honored to support a new grantee this year, Fresh Approach, whose focus is on making locally grown, healthy foods available to families. This nonprofit works to connect California communities with healthy food from California farmers while also increasing their knowledge about food and nutrition. They run the East Palo Alto Community Farmer’s Market every Wednesday from April to November, as well as many other programs that help families expand their access to local affordable produce. The goal of Fresh Approach is to bring about long-term change by helping families make sustainable choices through expanding their nutrition, cooking, and gardening skills, and by boosting their access to local, affordable produce.
We applaud Fresh Approach and our seven other grantees that are tackling food insecurity and hunger in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Thank you to:
Ecumenical Hunger Program | Provides compassionate, dignified, and practical assistance to families and individuals experiencing economic and personal hardship.
El Comité de Vecinos del Lado Oeste | Ensures that westside residents of East Palo Alto have access to community resources, supports tenant families with workshops and educational programming, and distributes food through community partnerships.
La Comida de California | Provides Palo Alto area seniors with a delicious, warm, sit-down meal each weekday and a nurturing environment in which they can commune and build friendships, contributing to their inclusion and belonging.
Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen | Feeds hungry and homeless families, children, seniors, veterans, students, and disabled individuals throughout our Bay Area community.
Peninsula Food Runners Organization | Alleviates hunger and minimizes food waste in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Every day, volunteers pick up and deliver a wide variety of wonderfully prepared and non-prepared surplus food to community organizations that feed their clients in need.
St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room | Provides hot, nutritious meals six days a week, 52 weeks a year. The dining room is free for all, no questions asked.
WeHope | The mission of WeHOPE is to help people become healthy, employed, and housed using innovative solutions, including providing meals.
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This story was featured in the November 15, 2023 E-Newsletter