We do not offer food. Here’s where you can find food.
No distribuimos alimentos. Encuentre comida gratis aquí.
我們不直接提供食物,但我們能幫助您找尋食物。

Special Initiatives

We work on a handful of special initiatives to provide targeted support to specific populations and the food banks that serve them.

These are the initiatives that we are actively working on. Previously, we have worked on initiatives such as nutrition education and older adult food access.

Building Food Bank Capacity

Helping members become more effective and stay up-to-date.

We help our members become more effective and stay up-to-date by facilitating the sharing of promising practices among food banks through regional meetings, webinars, peer-to-peer discussion groups, newsletters, templates, toolkits, and conferences. Topics include food public policy, community outreach, communication, and fundraising.

Feeding Farm Workers

Improving food access for farm workers.

California’s farm workers feed the world yet the ironic truth is, the rates of hunger among our farm worker community are staggering. We have undertaken a special initiative, working in partnership with food banks based in agricultural regions to create better access to food resources for our farm workers. As we work to better understand the needs of this community we are also working closely with other organizations who advocate on behalf of farmworkers and immigrant communities. Learn more about our Food Access for Farmworkers Initiative here. (Spanish version here).

Supporting Rural & Remote Food Banks

California’s rural and remote food banks face unique challenges.

California’s rural and remote food banks face barriers resulting from low population density coupled with larger geographic service areas. This dynamic increases the cost of food, staffing, and transportation for food banks located in these regions. At the same time, hunger in rural communities continues to rise.

We work with rural and remote food banks to:

  • Increase the supply of food available to them by creating smaller and mixed loads of food items 
  • Support new ways of distributing fresh produce to their communities such as tailgate distributions and mobile pantries
  • Provide consultation and resources for strategic planning and fundraising
  • Provide training and assistance to encourage participation in CalFresh Outreach and nutrition education programs
  • Convene meetings and trainings to facilitate peer-to-peer networking

The Rural & Remote Curriculum Modules were developed in 2016 by a peer group of rural and remote food bank directors as an information guide for those who are new to food banking and leadership roles in rural food banks throughout the state. The modules are peer reviewed on a regular basis to ensure up-to-date resources are provided.

Preparing for & Responding to Disasters

Wildfires and power shutoffs have become the new normal in California.

When disaster strikes, food banks maintain the vital flow of food into California’s communities to nourish them through the initial crisis and during the long rebuilding process. We work to help coordinate support to the impacted food banks, provide food resources as necessary, and create awareness of information and available resources such as Disaster-CalFresh.

We are helping members to evaluate their disaster resiliency plans and engage with their local officials and other nonprofits to create county-based disaster food distribution plans.

Get the News

Stay up to date in fight against hunger.

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