A food banker explains how food banks work

I work for the Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland, California. When I tell people this, they have a lot of questions! Turns out that although many people have donated food, time, or money to a food bank, they’re not quite sure how they work. Here are some questions I hear pretty often—answered!

How common is hunger in America, really?
A lot more common than many people think. About 1 in 5 Americans are “food insecure,” meaning they’re not sure where their next meal will come from. Most of them are children.

My county neighbors San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The cost of living here is high, but low-wage jobs don’t pay much more than they do anywhere else in the country. We hear from people who were laid off or had their hours cut, whose pension disappeared, who spent down their savings on medical bills, or who had a child or grandchild (or both) move in needing support. Their dollars are stretched, but their rent payment, utilities and transportation costs don’t shrink to match.

For people without any wriggle room in their budget, food is the first place to cut back.

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