Alameda County Community Food Bank

Press Releases:

Contact: Judyth Collin
(510) 636-4902

Holiday Food Drive Season Begins
—Alameda County Community Food Bank Hosts Breakfast Kick-off Event, Oct. 2—

26 September 2007 -- (Oakland, CA) –– Well-known Bay Area reporter Sherry Hu of CBS5 will headline the Alameda County Community Food Bank’s “Holiday Food Drive Kick-Off” event on Tuesday, October 2 from 8am – 9:30 am, to be held at the Food Bank facilities in Oakland. (7900 Edgewater Drive) Narsai David, notable Bay Area food guru, is the Honorary Chair for this year’s holiday food drive, which begins October 1 through January 31. The Food Bank’s goal is to collect 750,000 pounds of food this holiday season to help feed the 40,000 people it serves each week.

“Demand is up and food acquisition is down,” said Suzan Bateson, executive director of the Food Bank. “It’s vital that we collect enough food this holiday season to feed the thousands of low-income children and adults who rely on us. We hope to inspire more community groups to organize food drives this year.”

The breakfast event is open to anyone interested in organizing a food drive at their work, school, place of worship or organization. Participants will receive helpful hints for running a successful food drive, gain tips from other organizers, get pumped up by CBS5’s Sherry Hu and be served a light, healthy breakfast. RSVP to Pam Gidwani, pgidwani@accfb.org or 510-635-3663, ext. 328.

Canned meats and fish, peanut butter, powdered milk, canned stew, dried beans, rice, oatmeal or other healthy cereal, pasta and tomato sauce are the Food Bank’s 10 most wanted items.(No glass items, please.) Opportunities to donate food will be available at local Safeway stores, Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, libraries and schools. Sponsors for this year’s food drive include Oracle, Novartis, Chevron, Sybase, the Oakland A’s, Give Something Back and Bay Area Parent Magazine.

To learn more about how to organize a food drive, visit www.accfb.org\food_drive.html or send an email.