The Rising Need Persists But Together
We Can 

The government shutdown ended Wednesday, but we know that its impact persists. With emergencies like this, we often see that just because the shutdown itself has ended, the impact lingers for many. We are planning to distribute 2 million additional pounds of food through December based on our partner network’s needs as we head into the busy holiday season.

While SNAP benefits for many have begun to come through since the lapse, permanent SNAP cuts from HR1 for about 15,000-20,000 people in Alameda County have begun to take effect, which will have both a short- and long-term impact on demand.

Thanks to you, we’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support from our community – THANK YOU! In the past two months, we’ve seen an increase of 3,200 volunteer hours compared to this time last year. WOW.

As we head into the holidays, we still have a bit to go to meet the Together We Can match goal of $50,000 for volunteers. It’s an incredible way to double your impact with every dollar matched through December.
 
Thank you for being part of this community!

 

THANK YOU! From all of us

Yvonne, Annie, Ren, and Venus, ACCFB's Volunteer Team at this year's Volunteer Picnic 

“We are so grateful for the ACCFB volunteer community. Though troubling times may persist outside our warehouse doors, within the walls of the CEC, our volunteers act as a powerful force for good, delivering not only tangible relief but vital hope to Alameda County. I often brag to my colleagues that I have the best job at the Food Bank — and that’s because every day I am surrounded by the character, commitment, and compassion of our incredible volunteers.”

– Annie McShane, Volunteer Engagement Manager 

Thanksgiving Holiday Happenings

Thanksgiving Hours

Please be mindful of our Thanksgiving closures. The Food Bank will have a morning shift only on Wednesday, November 26 and will be closed on Thursday and Friday (November 27 and 28). 

Oakland Turkey Trot

On Thanksgiving Day, November 27th, join other community members running to support ACCFB. Thank you to all who are volunteering at the event! 

Headlands Brewing Fundraiser

Head to Headlands Brewing on December 2nd (Giving Tuesday). They will be donating 100% of our revenue (literally every penny of revenue) from that day at their Berkeley-Westbrae location, to ACCFB! 
 

Volunteer Impact with the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation   

Volunteers being recognized for their service at an event with Eat. Learn. Play. 

In partnership with ACCFB, Steph and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, we host Eat. Learn. Play. Distributions at Oakland Elementary Schools two to three times a week, including Oakland Community Events, with our Eat. Learn. Play. Bus and Alameda County Community Food Bank MOPA (Mobile Pantry Truck). Students receive snacks prepared by Community Kitchens made with food from ACCFB, and books of their very own provided by the Oakland Literacy Coalition.  

This partnership meets kids where they’re at, in a safe space and place, bringing a joyful event and atmosphere to local schools. So far, the Eat. Learn. Play. Bus and ACCFB MOPA has hosted over 140 events at most of the Oakland Elementary Schools in the district. 

Thank you to every volunteer who has supported a distribution. We see you and the dedication you put into this program, and you should know you are a large reason for its success! The ELP team always has incredible things to say about our volunteers, thank you for being star representatives. 

More Ways to Volunteer  

While our volunteer calendar is pretty booked up, there are still ways you can show up as a volunteer to support ACCFB and the wider community!  

Have you h
eard about our Food Justice Organizing Task Force? It’s an initiative led by our Community Organizing team where volunteer community organizers make their voices heard and advocate for hunger relief policy and action at the local level. 

ACCFB Community Organizers and staff at a Board of Supervisors meeting   

Want to connect with some of our amazing partner agencies? Many of our partner agencies throughout Alameda County need volunteers to help distribute food at neighborhood distributions.  

Volunteer Spotlight: Lecia Finney 

“I love the Alameda County and Oakland community, and I want to enable other people to love it as well. I can spend just a little bit of time and make sure somebody's got oranges for their kids’ lunch. I can give a little bit of money and make sure that they've got cheese and milk in their in their fridge when they want it. It's such a small effort that can have a big impact.”
– Lecia Finney, ACCFB volunteer 

Learn more about Lecia and what keeps her coming back to volunteer in our latest blog post.  

We thank you for your support of the work of Alameda County Community Food Bank.
Stay safe and be well.