For the Alameda County Community Food Bank, meeting this need has been a huge challenge.
Michael Altfest works with the food bank. He said, “We’ve seen unprecedented spikes in need. We, almost overnight, saw a 1,000 percent increase in calls to our food helpline. We’re now distributing 50 to 70 percent more food now than we were this time last year.”
Alameda resident Roberta Crawford said, “The boxes we get, we share with our neighbors. We have some neighbors that can’t get out and this is real important. It helps a lot of people.”
The huge increase in demand for food here in Alameda County since the pandemic began is reflected at food banks and non-profits all over the Bay Area.
For the Alameda County Community Food Bank, meeting this exponential demand has been a huge challenge. We ve seen unprecedented spikes in need, says Michael Altfest with the Alameda County Community Food Bank. We almost overnight saw a thousand percent increase in calls to our food help line. We re now distributing 50 to 70 percent more food now than we were this time last year.
Many of the people waiting in line on New Year s Eve at this food drive are not just getting food for themselves, but also for others. The boxes we get, we share with our neighbors, says Roberta Crawford. We have some neighbors that can t get out and this is real important. It helps a lot of people.