Alameda County: Number relying on food bank grows


We are posting this article to underscore the increased need for food or monetary donations at our local food banks.

By Samantha Clark
Oakland Tribune Correspondent
Originally published on 18 August 2014

OAKLAND — One in five Alameda County residents relies on food bank assistance, which is more than the one in seven nationally, according to a new survey released Monday by Feeding America, a network of food banks.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties serves 250,000 people every month, or one in 10 residents of both counties. That’s an increase of 21 percent in the last four years since the last study was done.The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano counties serve 188,000 people each month and that number has increased by 26 percent in the past two years, due to an increase in programs and people struggling from the recession, said Lisa Sherrill, spokeswoman for the food bank. She said the food bank is still crunching its data.The survey, conducted in 2012 and 2013, states that 311,000 individuals receive food assistance monthly from the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

To read the full article, click here.