Alameda County Community Food Bank

Press Releases:

Contact: Kari Martell
(510) 636-4902

Oakland Losing Out on $54.5 Million in Federal Dollars for Hungry People:

Alameda County Community Food Bank works with County and City to improve city’s food stamp participation rate and connect low-wage earners with nutrition program

September 28, 2005--(Oakland, CA) According to a new national study of 26 large cities released today by the Food Research and Action Coalition (FRAC), Oakland is ranked worst at providing access to federal food stamp benefits for their residents in need. As a result, the city of Oakland is estimated to have unclaimed federal food benefits of $54,646,497 each year.

Oakland's Food Stamp participation rate is a low 23% of eligible households, but the Alameda County Community Food Bank views this as an opportunity to increase awareness about the Food Stamp Program, and to work with city and county officials to knock down barriers that people face when attempting to access the program.

The good news for Oakland is that over a five-year period, food stamp enrollment appears to be on the rise and more federal benefits are flowing into the community. For the past several years, the Alameda County Community Food Bank has been working throughout the community to connect eligible families with food stamp benefits.

"We are making great strides in connecting people to this valuable entitlement program," said Suzan Bateson, executive director of the Alameda County Community Food Bank. "With the help of the County of Alameda and the City of Oakland we are providing outreach, eligibility prescreening and food stamp application assistance to thousands of potentially eligible households."

California's leaders have a double incentive to increase the numbers of those participating in the federally funded Food Stamp Program, because under-participation not only hurts low-income people and strains food bank services, but it also harms local economies. Research from USDA shows that each dollar of federal food stamp benefits generates nearly twice that in economic activity, as these dollars are typically spent promptly in local grocery stores and farmer's markets.

Congress, however, is still considering cuts to the Food Stamp Program that would make it even harder to serve hungry people. Scores of food banks and other organizations serving low-income families in California have joined in a sign-on letter urging Congress to abandon the proposal to make cuts to this important nutrition program.