Episode 2: SF Marin Food Bank

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A transcript, lightly edited for clarity and length, follows.

Show Guest: Katy Mann McKnight, Director of Community Engagement, San Francisco Marin Food Bank

Voices of the Community Introduction: Welcome to voices of the community which explores critical issues facing Northern California communities. We introduce you to the voices of community thought leaders and change makers who are working on solutions that face our fellow individual community members neighborhoods cities and our region. This is George Koster your host.

Series Introduction: This episode is part of a series of interviews we conducted through our participation in the Bay Area Video Coalition’s TV Show titled San Francisco Nonprofits Spotlight. The interviews were conducted via Zoom from April to June 2020 during the height of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Shelter in Place requirements. The goal of the series is to shine a spotlight on the nonprofits and their staff who are struggling to deal with the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on their operations, services and sustainability. The series of interviews we conducted features voices from a cross section of organizations that make up the fabric of our community.  Each of them brings a unique perspective on how they and we are dealing with the issues facing our community during the pandemic. 

Show Guest Katy: So, I think the first thing for us that was sort of an indicator that things were about to change really significantly for us was we look at our find food page on our website. That's sort of an indicator, right? And in February this year, that site had about 900 visits in April of this year, that site had 25,000 visits. 

Episode Intro - Show Host George: In this episode we feature the voice of Katy McKnight, the Director of Community Engagement with the San Francisco Marin Food Bank. The San Francisco Marin Food Bank’s mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin where one in four neighbors is at risk of hunger. The Food Bank was providing food for an estimated Sixty Thousand households per week. This was all before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and tens of thousands of people in San Francisco and Marin lost their jobs. The need is estimated to have doubled over the past Ninety Days. Over 100 of the food bank's 250 plus food pantries had to close because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The food bank is operating 20 plus pop up pantries at schools and community centers to address the massive the food in-security facing our neighbors. To help feed home bound seniors who used to visit San Francisco Marin Food Bank pantries for groceries they have created the Pantry at Home program to deliver food directly to 7 thousand plus seniors.

Show Host George: I'm joined remotely via zoom by Katy McKnight, the Director of Community Engagement for the San Francisco Marin Food Bank. Katie, thanks for being here today.

Show Guest Katy: Thanks, so much for having me, George.

George: Katy, since you run the volunteer program and work out in the community, how has the COVID-19 epidemic impacted the San Francisco Marin Food bank? And what are you seeing out there in the community?

Katy: Yeah, George, you know, um, I've been at the food bank seven and a half years, and we've never seen anything like this before. We've never seen such a rapid increase in the needs of our services. And that is something that we just were not, uh, not anticipating. And we didn't really know what was going to happen when Covid19 and all the Shelter in Place really began.

And for us, you know, right now we're serving an additional 30,000 households a week. So, we nearly doubled our distribution. And I think that's the first thing we're noticing is just how severe the need is and how severely it's spiked. And then additionally, it's who those participants are. So we have our participants, the may have lost access to the pantry that they typically attended, but really what we're learning now, is the more I'm out in the community amount the more I'm talking to those that are coming to our pantries, it's that this is often their first time needing food assistance. And it's done in direct to job loss from Covid19 or being affected specifically by Covid19. So, for me, that's one of the things that really stands out is how quickly the need has spiked and how large that need is and really who it is that we're serving. And, and seeing that shift as so much more than it looks like pre-COVID-19.

George: With the COVID-19 and, the impact of more families and children asking for food, what have you and your team done to respond to the situation?

Katy: So, I think the first thing for us that was sort of an indicator that things were about to change really significantly for us was we look at our find food page on our website. That's sort of an indicator, right? And in February this year, that site had about 900 visits in April of this year, that site had 25,000 visits. 

So, we, you know, we started seeing that increase, and we knew early on, we were going to need you pretty quickly and, adjust our services. So, we've done that a couple of ways. The biggest way in which we've had in passing the community is what we are calling our Pop-Up Pantries. So, we had over 110 of our pantry sites out of 275 had to close directly because of the COVID-19. Right now, as a mid-May, about 88 of them are back online.

So we are, we're feeling pretty good about that, but right now we know that there's increased names. So, we've opened these Pop-Up Pantries. This week we are opening up our 23rd Pop Up Pantry across San Francisco and Marin. And these are copies, of our pantries in every quadrant of the city and across Marin where our families, our participants can go each week to gain access to healthy grains, protein, and fresh produce. When we first started these Pop Ups in late March, we were looking at serving about 300 to 600 households each week. Now all of those popups are serving over 1200, 1700. We have one pop up that serves consistently 1700 households each week.

George: Wow. That's ah, quite a volume. Would you mind sharing with the audience probably, you know, one of your kind of favorite stories or moments through the Pop-Up Pantries? Because you know, now more than ever the, food banks are out in the community itself, instead of having people come to your site.

Katy: Yeah, I, you know, I, think back to one of the first pantries we opened was a site out in the Bayview. And I was there sort of acting as the greeter, helping manage the line, answering questions. And we don't ask many questions about participants when they come to our pantries, but I like to try and strike up a conversation.  

And I spoke to this woman who is a barista at an independent coffee shop and then lost her job. And we were just talking, and I was asking how she had heard about the food bank, was she familiar with the Food Bank. And she said, you know, I knew that the Food Bank was there and was providing food, but it wasn't anything. I never thought I would need food assistance. Um, she asked if I had kids. I said, no. And she said, I have two high school aged boys. Do you know how much one high school aged boy eats, let alone two high school age boys? And she took a pause and got a little teary eye and said, I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know how I was going to be able to do my job as a mom and keep my children fed. And then I heard about the food distribution. I heard that I had access to food. And it adds a little bit of relief and makes me feel a little bit better than I know I can at least do that and provide for my sons.

And I think that for me was of the moments where, we get so caught up in the logistics and we're moving so quickly and trying to serve so many people that sometimes the impact and the true stories of those that we're serving can get lost. And for me, that was that moment where I was able to sort of take a deep breath and reflect on.

The work that we're doing and knowing that, you know, all of the support we're gathering all the food that we're distributing, it really does mean something, and it really is tangible. And we are directly affecting the lives of those that we're serving. And I think that's a moment that I've been carrying with me for six weeks now, and it still gives me goosebumps and it makes me pretty emotional, emotional, just thinking that was just one. Um, the thousands of households that we are serving in response to COVID-19.

George: Thank you that was really great. So, besides the Pop-Up Pantries, and now you're doing the deliveries to people's homes, especially seniors, for example, what additional needs are you seeing out there?

Katy: Yeah. So, to your point, we're doing the pantries. We're doing our deliveries to 11,000 seniors who lost access to their pantry. Program, we call Pantry to our home delivery grocery program. We're also seeing a significant increase in need for Cal Fresh, which is the SNAP for the food stamp program here in California.  

And we have a whole team that's dedicated to helping those apply last year in March, 39,000 people across the state of California applied for those benefits this year in March 94,000 people across California applied for those benefits. So, one of the ways we're helping is helping people get access to as many benefits as possible. 

And we also know that we are facing a challenge in food procurement, you know, price, eggs, the price of protein has increased, and we know that we are challenged with recruiting volunteers. The more Pop Up sites we can open is dependent on our ability to recruit volunteers and our ability to secure sites, to have these Pop Ups. We also know that our participants food insecurity is just one of the challenges that they're facing in response to COVID-19. So, you know, really looking at all of the other agencies that are providing services in San Francisco and identify how we can work together, how we can refer participants back and forth to each other so that the participants are getting access to all of the services that they need.

Because food is one part of this. And it's a pretty, it's a pretty big part, but you know, the effects of COVID-19 on those that we're serving, which are some of the most vulnerable populations in San Francisco. And now it really expanded to mean a greater population in San Francisco and Marin. We're trying to, as holistically as possible, meet all of their, all of their needs as best we can.  

George: Katie, how could people, basically get involved with the food bank? You know, there's volunteering obviously dropping off food. You guys are running of funding campaign. Could you share a little bit about that?

Katy: We are. Yeah. So, one of the best ways to help the food bank is by making a financial donation. So right now, um, we do have a COVID-19 specific funding campaign, a hundred-thousand-dollar match that is helping us to meet the increase need. But every dollar donated the food bank is able to provide two meals to the community.

So, the way the Food Bank works, we purchase tractor trailer loads of products. We work on a really large scale, which comes with the costs. So, all that financial support is really impactful to us. Donations can be made right on our website, sfmfoodbank.org. And you'll see the big banner right on the top that says COVID-19 support.

Additionally, we need volunteer help. So, we are stopping volunteers in our warehouse who are helping us pack all these seniors, food boxes and bags that are being delivered. We need volunteers at all of our pop-up pantries as they continue to grow. And we continue to add these pop-up pantries and that could be done at volunteering sfmfoodbank.org. Again, if you just go to our main website, you can get all the links to get involved. And then the third thing that, you know, I'm so grateful to be here with you today, George is to talk about is awareness. I think people understand that there's an increased need because of COVID-19. And I think that the more we can share how directly impacted so many San Franciscans and folks in Marin really are by COVID-19. And, and we know that recovery is going to take a really long time. And especially for those most vulnerable populations, when we talk about that recovery, and as that trickle-down recovery, those will be the last to recover.

And we are going to be here for them until, you know, everybody can get back on their feet, or for those that will continue to need our services. So, we are in this for the long haul. So, the more people are talking about food insecurity, the better for us.

George: So, Katy out of this complete meltdown. What do you see are positive things that could come out of the COVID, 19, you know, it's like putting an X Ray on our system? So, what do you see happening?

Katy: You know, there's a few ways. I think that when we look back on COVID-19 and sort of, you know, debrief, if you will, I think there's for me, a couple of things that initially stand out is I hope that people can take comfort in knowing that the food bank and these safety net services will always be there and that we can weather nearly anything together. 

And I hope that people are able to take some comfort in that. And I would also say that this has allowed us to open up our eyes a little bit on our operating both of the food bank and, you know, at the city and governmental level. The way we are operating right now is very different than how the Food Bank would typically operate. We've had to be nimble. We've had to move quickly. We've had to pivot much faster than we typically would like to.

And I think we've been able to be really successful in that. I think this also gives us a chance to look at food insecurity as a whole. And really looking at it, what are all the factors that can be causing an individual to face hunger. And what are the steps along the way, what are the other opportunities we can have as a community to affect change for those that we're serving to help alleviate those challenges, help alleviate that fear, help alleviate the stress that comes with food insecurity. 

Um, and as I have eluded to earlier, food insecurity is just one challenge that our participants face. So, it has definitely been highlighted right now during COVID-19 and I hope that as we move forward, we can continue to look back and remember that this is one part of a much larger picture for those that are struggling in San Francisco and Marin.

And that we can work together on ah, on a bigger level to affect change for these participants. And then I think the last thing that really has stood out to me is just how generous the community has been. Both our corporate partners are financial donors, our volunteer donors, our other community partners. And we really think we're learning that we are much nimbler than we thought we would be.

And as a community that is trying to serve our neighbors in need. And, that you know, I take comfort and I take solace in knowing that. We do have the ability to pretty quickly affect really big change. Um, doubling our distribution in seven and a half to eight weeks is pretty rapid for us and we've been able to do it because we have so much support.

George: Thank you. So really appreciate everything that you and the food bank are doing. And we'll make sure that, people have the contact information on how to engage, as volunteer, donation, et cetera. Please stay safe out there as you're out in the community. And, please keep, uh, helping our community feed themselves. Obviously it's a dire need. 

Katy: Thank you, George. I really appreciated the opportunity to talk about the work that we're doing. We're all really proud to be food bankers right now. And thank you for letting us share a little insight into that with you and your audience.

George: Thank you.

Episode Outro Show Host George: That’s it for this episode of voices of the community. You have been listening to the voice of Katy McKnight, the Director of Community Engagement with the San Francisco Marin Food Bank. The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and their pantry partners distribute food without asking many questions, other than a few basics such as ZIP code and household size. Additionally, they don’t ask participants to sign up or show ID or about immigration status, and they provide food for our unhoused neighbors. The food bank also helps clients to sign up with Cal Fresh, the state of California’s version of food stamps. As Katy mentioned, food insecurity is just one of many challenges that food bank participants are facing during this pandemic.

Series Outro: We hope that you enjoyed the insights, points of view and personal stories from the voices of change makers and their nonprofits featured in the series. To find out more and get engaged with the nonprofit and staff members, featured in this episode please go to my web site georgekoster.com and click on Voices of the Community to find links to this episode. Please consider a donation and volunteering to provide a hand up to your fellow community members.

Series Credits: I want to thank my associate producer Eric Estrada as well as the wonderful team at Bay Area Video Coalition. Go to www.bavc.org to find out more about Bay Area Video Coalition’s services. To listen to our next episode in this series and to our archived past shows which feature community voices working on solutions to critical issues facing Northern California communities, please go to georgekoster.com. While you are on our website please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows like this. Please rate us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts and share this story with your friends. Follow us on twitter @georgekoster and please email us at george@georgekoster.com. I'm George Koster in San Francisco and thank you for listening.

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