California food banks report surge in number of people served in 2020

OAKLAND, Calif. (KION) The California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) has released its 2020 Impact Report outlining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food banks around the state, and it reports seeing an increase in the number of people served as the food banks adjusted to restrictions.

The CAFB said that in 2020, food insecurity in California was about 2.5 times what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting one in four households and 10 million California residents.

According to the CAFB, its 41 member food banks distributed 1.1 billion pounds of food, the equivalent of about 917 million meals, in 2020. In just April 2020, it reports that 32 of the food banks served 62% of the number of people served over the course of all of 2019-- about 4.5 million people.

As needs increased, food banks also had to change how they served community members. Because of social distancing requirements, California food banks shifted to drive-thru and home delivery distributions, which normally had been rare. The CAFB said the shift led to a surge in costs.

In addition to its regular distributions, the association said it began working with the United Farm Workers Foundation in spring 2020 to learn more about the needs of farm workers and their needs. The partnership led to a $2 million grant for 11 food banks in agricultural areas and the July 2020 launch of the Food Access for Farmworkers Initiative.

Between the time the initiative began and March 1, 2021, the CAFB said it has served 191,000 households and provided 9.6 million pounds of food at 194 distribution sites to farmworkers.

Pandemic guidelines also meant changes for the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, which worked with agencies to deliver voucher booklets to low-income older adults. The CAFB reports that many of the agencies that distributed them closed temporarily due to the pandemic, so it reached out to Farm to Family and created a plan to distribute boxes of produce. Between August and September, the association reports that 20,242 boxes were sent to food banks by farmers, and the CAFB has been asked to continue the program through the summer.

Of the CAFB's 41 member food banks, three are located on the Central Coast- the Community Food Bank of San Benito County, the Food Bank for Monterey County and the Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County.

Read the full impact report below.