Treasure Island residents are food insecure because of their geographical isolation. Residents are feeding one another through a community garden, a food pantry and someday soon, organizers hope, an urban farm.
Category: Food Systems
Posted inFood Systems, Immigration
‘Back to Pandemic Levels’: Bay Area Food Programs Brace for SNAP Shutdown
Facing suspension of federal food assistance benefits next week, Bay Area nonprofit distributors are bracing for a surge in demand. Grassroots programs fill a critical niche in the region’s food security system.
Posted inCalifornia, Community, Food Systems, Government & Politics
Already Struggling, Area Food Banks Brace for Higher Demand Brought on by SNAP Cuts
Food banks expect lines to grow even longer, after Congress approved a $186 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in early July, the largest cut in the food stamp program’s history.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Food Systems
As Pandemic Threatens Restaurants, Charities Battling Hunger Offer a Lifeline
As the coronavirus vaccine rolls out and San Francisco’s commercial eviction moratorium extends at a piecemeal rate — it was scheduled to lift at the end of March but has now been extended — questions about the future of the city’s restaurant industry are becoming louder. Nonprofit food groups are offering solutions.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Food Systems, Social Services
As Lockdowns Wear on, Food Bank Grows Services to Meet Still-High Need
Hunger has come along with job losses during pandemic-related shutdowns. In the Bay Area, food banks continue to see long lines. The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank has roughly doubled the number of people it serves since before the pandemic. The cost of procuring that food, meanwhile, is rising as federal aid programs expire.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Food Systems, Health, Labor
Outbreaks Among Food Supply Chain Workers Reflect Crowded Conditions
An estimated 3 million people work on farms in the United States every year to raise and harvest the nation’s produce. The meat and poultry industry is estimated to employ another half million. Working conditions in both industries tend to be harsh, and many workers have limited access to health care to begin with.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Food Systems
Farmers Markets, as Essential Food Sources, Adapt to Pandemic
Farmers markets are able to reconfigure stalls and have the advantage of often being open-air, but they are also adapting to social distancing health orders by increasing access to fresh produce for low-income customers. Markets across the nation are reshaping their layouts and changing shopping procedures, while farmers, vendors and advocacy groups grapple with decreased foot traffic and at times inconsistent government guidance.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Food Systems, Homelessness
S.F. Nonprofit Faces Quarter-Million Monthly Cost of Coronavirus Adaptations
The St. Anthony Foundation of San Francisco has paid some $400,000 of its own money, and expects to pay $250,000 a month going forward, for equipment, staff and service changes necessary to meet the needs of the community during the coronavirus pandemic, its director estimated.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Essential Workers, Food Systems
Grocery Union Reaches Deal for Workers on Front Lines of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Grocery stores have been deemed essential during the pandemic, and their employees are stationed on the front lines. One San Jose grocery store worker has died of COVID-19.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Food Systems, Labor
‘Waging Change’ Documents Worker Movement to End Tipped Minimum Wage
In “Waging Change,” a new documentary from filmmaker Abby Ginzberg, workers explain the toll that the tipped minimum wage takes on their pay, safety and families. On this episode of “Civic,” Ginzberg and Saru Jayaraman, director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley and co-founder of One Fair Wage, say the tipped minimum wage is directly linked with sexual harassment and racial discrimination in the workplace.