Feb at ACCFB: MLK Day of Service & Advocacy Team Visits Sacramento

Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy with Service

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, hundreds of volunteers gathered at the Community Engagement Center at ACCFB to honor the legacy of Dr. King through service, learning, and community. Fifteen groups rallied their members to join from historically African American sororities and fraternities to church groups to a chapter of the Peace Corps. Volunteers of all backgrounds and from all generations came together to exemplify Dr. King's words that "everyone can be great because anyone can serve."

The event was the biggest volunteer day in ACCFB’s history! Over 350 total volunteers participated in two shifts, sorting food to go out to our community partners. Speakers including Regi Young, AFFCB Executive Director and Dr. Saleem Gilmore, Director of Student Equity and Success at Chabot College and ACCFB Board member grounded volunteers in the purpose and impact of their work. Attendees also participated in a food justice workshop centered around our strategic plan and learned about additional opportunities for advocacy, engagement, and community building at ACCFB and beyond.

Feeling inspired? We are always looking for new and returning volunteers!

ACCFB’s Advocacy Team in Sacramento

Members of the ACCFB’s policy team join other members of the California Hunger Action Coalition at the office of Governor Gavin Newsom

The election is over but in a real sense, our critical work is just beginning. Our elected officials have taken their oaths of office and now it’s the job of advocates to hold them accountable for working to end hunger and poverty.

Last month, ACCFB’s policy team traveled to Sacramento for a day of anti-hunger advocacy, kicking off the new legislative season. The crew met with staff members from the offices of Governor Gavin Newsom and key members of the Legislature and shared our priorities for 2025. These include supporting California’s food banks in distributing fresh, locally grown produce, increasing the minimum monthly CalFresh benefit, and protecting immigrant rights.

This day kicked off what is going to be a vigorous year of advocacy, and we need your help to ensure it’s a successful one. Sign up to receive Advocacy Action Alerts to be the first to learn about future opportunities to join us in Sacramento.

And we need your help to shape our policy and advocacy plans. Every year, ACCFB makes decisions on which proposed laws we will advocate for. And to end hunger for good, we need you—our community—to both inform our policy priorities and help us achieve them. So we need you to tell us: What should we advocate for next?

In less than five minutes, you can help steer our advocacy direction for 2025. Please take our advocacy survey today to tell us about the biggest issues facing our communities and the changes you’d like to see.

30 Years with Erick – Our Longest-Tenured Staffer

Wondering what the Food Bank was like 30 years ago? Ask Erick Lovdahl, ACCFB’s Vice President of Operations, who has been with the Food Bank for 30 of its 40 years, dating back to when ACCFB was made up of a small but mighty team working out of a much smaller warehouse. One thing that has stayed constant throughout Erick’s time here is the heart and dedication that people bring to the work.

“I got involved with the Food Bank because it was really important to me at the time to give back to the community…I stayed because I fell in love with the work, and with the passion, care and expertise within the Food Bank community. It’s always been about people and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work along so many incredible people.” -Erick Lovdahl

Happy 30th work anniversary, Erick!

Check out our 2024 Annual Report

The Food Bank’s impact goes far beyond one individual, organization, or story. Dive into our Annual Report to see how we’ve been working together with our partners, programs, and advocacy efforts over the past fiscal year. The report is a great opportunity to get to know some of our amazing partners and see how we’re tackling hunger from all angles!

Planning for a Hunger-Free Future

We have partnered with FreeWill to make it easy for anyone to create a lasting legacy dedicated to ending hunger in Alameda County.

Join Our Team

We're looking for amazing people to join our Food Bank Team. Check out our open positions:

Alameda County Community Food Bank, 7900 Edgewater Drive, Oakland, CA 94621

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