Residents Living In Poverty Skyrockets In Contra Costa County

KTVU's David Stevenson reports from the Food Bank about poverty in Contra Costa County.

http://www.ktvu.com/video/21154221/index.html

The Food Stamp Challenge comes to end for some, but not for the thousands of people who live with hunger every day.

The San Francisco Food Bank 2009 Hunger Challenge ran from September 20-26. For seven days, participants ate on $4 dollars a day, the budget of a food stamp recipient.

Read about CBS 5 Reporter Sue Kwon's week on the Hunger Challenge. http://cbs5.com/consumer/hunger.challenge.food.2.1198974.html

No room for error living on $4 a day

A cup of coffee cost Sue Kwon a big part of her $4 food budget. See what she has to say here: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=55825@kpix.dayport.com

CBS 5 Reporter Takes $4-A-Day Hunger Challenge

The San Francisco Food Bank's 2009 Hunger Challenge is this week - September 20-26. CBS 5 ConsumerWatch reporter Sue Kwon takes on the challenge and will file reports everyday this week documenting her experiment that we hope will put a spotlight on hunger.

Tuesday: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=55719@kpix.dayport.com

And Wednesday: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=55774@kpix.dayport.com

If you're taking on the Hunger Challenge we would like to hear about it. If you are on food stamps and have budget stretching ideas or want to share your thoughts, please share them with CBS 5.

CBS5 Reporter Sue Kwon Joins the Hunger Challenge

Watch this video of Sue's first Hunger Challenge report, including video at our warehouse and pantries and an interveiw with SF Food Bank's Paul Ash! And here's her second, in-depth report where she shops with Amy Sherman.

CBS5 ConsumerWatch reporter Sue Kwon is taking the Hunger Challenge and reporting about her experiences. See her reports all week at 6 pm, with repeats at 11 pm and the following morning. Sue will also be sharing cost-effective recipes and helping viewers learn how to stretch their food dollars. We're thrilled that Sue and CBS5 are making such a big commitment to shining a light on hunger in San Francisco! [In the photo to the left, Sue shops for the Challenge with veteran Hunger Challenge blogger Amy Sherman.]

Take the 2009 Hunger Challenge

Email HungerChallenge@SFFB.org to participate!

Learn more about the 2009 Hunger Challenge

Visit the San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge blog.

Week four of 30 ways in 30 days

Welcome to week four of 30 ways in 30 days - ways you can fight hunger in your community every day of the week. If you missed any of the weeks, or want to see the end, you can find the whole month of 30 days in 30 ways at www.foodbankccs.org.

30 Days in 30 Ways - Week 4

Sept. 21: Book a tee time on Sept. 21st at Oakhurst Country Club in Clayton and a portion of your Green Fees will be donated. Bring five canned food items and receive a raffle ticket. Call 925-672-9737 ext. 201


Sept 22: Empty Bowls, Food Bank Concord Warehouse, 5:30 pm, $10 per person. Enjoy a simple meal served in a handcrafted bowl and get a behind the scenes look at the Food Bank. Reservations required and seat­ing is limited, please call 925-771-1310 to reserve your spot today.

Sept. 23: Ask employees to bring their lunch on a specific day and donate the value of an average lunch to the Food Bank.


Sept. 24: Empty Bowls, Food Bank Fairfield Warehouse, 5:30 pm, $10 per person. Enjoy a simple meal served in a handcrafted bowl and get a behind the scenes look at the Food Bank. Reservations required and seat­ing is limited, please call 925-771-1310 to reserve your spot today.

September 24 -27 Walnut Festival, Walnut Creek. Bring a can of food to donate and get $1 off your admission. www.thewalnutfestival.org


Sept. 25: Myths and Facts of Food Stamps 9 am - noon, Food Bank Concord Warehouse. More info: 925- 676-7543 ext. 231.


Sept. 26: Pleasant Hill Community Service Day. Local residents will be collecting non-perishable food for the Food Bank on this annual Community Service Day. To be a part of this event go to http://www.pleasanthill.ca.gov/index.aspx?NID=514 and then click on Food Bank to sign up.


Sept 26: Sunrise Assisted Living Food Drive, 2175 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek. Please join us for live music, good food, and a good cause. To RSVP, please call (925) 932-3500.


Sept. 20: There is still time to give a little during Hunger Action Month. For every dollar donated, the Food Bank is able to provide three meals to people in need.


For more ideas on how to fight hunger in your community, visit our Hunger Action Month calendar online.

Can you eat for just $4 a day?

That's the average amount a Californian on food stamps has to spend on a day's meals. CBS5 reporter Sue Kwon will take the Hunger Challenge September 21-26. She’ll spend no more than $4 a day on food for the week. Sue will kick off her Hunger Challenge on CBS5’s 6 pm news today, and will give updates on the 6 pm newscast each day of the Challenge. She’ll take viewers shopping, share some cost-efficient but nutrient-rich recipes, and report on the latest news on food stamps and talk about people facing hunger every day in our community.

Each of the Bay Area Food Banks is experiencing unprecedented demand. Find your local Food Bank at www.bayareahunger.org and donate now. For more information on the Hunger Challenge, visit http://www.HungerChallenge.com.

Give a Little Feed a Lot!

We are at the half-way point of Hunger Action Month, but there is still time to give a little during Hunger Action Month. For every dollar donated, the Food Bank is able to provide three meals to people in need. Consider giving up your coffee this week. At three dollars a day for seven days that is 63 meals we can provide in the community.

Help us raise $10,000! Give a Little today and we will make sure it Feeds a Lot!

RSVP to Share Family Togetherness & Meal Time Tips This Tuesday on Twitter

September 12, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee

Stop for a second and think about your most favorite meal time experience with your family. What made it fun or meaningful? What did you eat? What did you talk about? What was it that helped you connect and grow closer as a family?

Now think for a second about what gets in the way of achieving that on a regular basis. If you’re like me, quick and simple meals are never quick or simple enough, meal times are rushed, and while I’d love to have all sorts of meaningful conversations with the family during meal time, we are usually lucky to get a home-cooked meal and even luckier to get conversation with it.

But… statistics show the importance of family togetherness during meal times. So, this Tuesday, we are fortunate to have Libby’s and Feeding America along with other #gno gals to share with us their fabulous tips for making the most of meal time. Have lots to share? Want to learn? Or, want to connect for a little girl power? Then, join us this Tuesday for #gno.

And, don’t forget to enter to win one of our amazing giveaway going on this week.

What: Libby’s is sponsoring this week’s #gno Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)

When: Tuesday, September 15, 9-11 p.m. EST

Where: Party with us on our custom Tweetgrid. (Use hashtag #gno.)

Topic: Family togetherness and meal times

Who: @feedingamerica @goodlifeeats @hannahkeeley @janemaynard @savorthethyme @rockinmama

Party Favors: Click here to check out this week’s giveaway sponsored by Libby’s.

RSVP: Please leave your Twitter ID in the comments to follow and be followed (on Twitter, of course!) by other #gno gals. The best format is as follows: http://twitter.com/jylmomIF.

30 ways in 30 days - Week 3

Welcome to week three of 30 ways in 30 days - ways you can fight hunger in your community every day of the week. If you missed week two, or want to jump ahead, you can find the whole month of 30 days in 30 ways at www.foodbankccs.org.

30 Days in 30 Ways - Week 3

Sept. 14 -18: United WayWeek of Caring

Sept. 14: Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/foodbankccs and fan us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Bank-of-Contra-Costa-and-Solano/114530700443.

Sept 15: Macy's "Come Together" invites you to host a dinner party and ask guests to pledge a donation to Feeding America in place of the usual host gift through Macy's "Come Together" website. Macy's will generously match each donation made for the campaign. Plus tonight Macy's will host the Wolrd's Largest Dinner Party at your local Macy's at 6:00 pm.

Sept. 16: Join the Food Bank's monthly donor program.

Sept. 17: Become an advocate for hunger and poverty relief. Sign up to receive Hunger Fighter advocacy alerts from the Food Bank.


Sept. 18: Sony Pictures releases Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs today. Kids can join Flint in becoming a Hunger Helper - someone who finds ways to fight hunger in the community. Become a Hunger Helper today by making your own bookmark and even writing to your Congressman.

Sept. 19: A day-long shopping event, Macy's - Passport, offers the opportunity for local non-profit organizations that support AIDS/HIV programs to raise funds. Participating Macy's stores are located at Pleasanton's Stoneridge Mall, Walnut Creek's Broadway Plaza, San Francisco's Union Square, Marin's Corte Madera Store, Palo Alto's Stanford Store, and Santa Clara's Valley Fair Store. For a $10.00 ticket to the event, you will receive a special shopping discount (exclusive to Passport in Store) to be used on almost all purchases. The Food Bank will retain 100% of the direct ticket sales proceeds. For more information or to purchase a ticket, please contact Joan Tomasini at 925-771-1315 or email jtomasini@foodbankccs.org.

Sept. 20: Host a Food Drive.

For more ideas visit our Hunger Action Month calendar online.

Summer Lunch Celebrations

During the summer months, school is out, but the need for lunch is not. The Summer Lunch Celebrations, held by the Food Bank throughout the month of July, embodied this idea. The Food Bank partnered with UC Cooperative Extension, Contra Costa Health Services, and Vallejo and Mt. Diablo Unified School Districts to hold two events hosted by Wren Avenue Elementary in Concord and Norman King Community Center in Vallejo. Children of all ages were invited to participate in various activities, games, and giveaways related to healthy eating and physical activity. Over 200 children played a relay game, learned about healthy food and drink choices, and enjoyed a snack of peaches and plums in addition to their free lunch. For the parents, there was information about food stamps and other food assistance programs provided by the Food Bank.

Many children rely on free or reduced-price school lunches as their main or only source of nutritious, balanced food. During the summer months, some kids go without a healthy meal for this reason. To rectify this, the USDA created the Summer Food Service Program that provides free lunches to any child under the age of 18. Free lunches are offered at various community centers, schools, and parks in low-income neighborhoods. With the budget crisis and many schools closing, there are fewer locations that offer free meals. Thankfully, despite these setbacks, free lunches were served at over 100 sites throughout Contra Costa and Solano counties.
You can help improve access to nutrition programs for kids -- like the Summer Food Service Program. This Fall, Congress will be making decisions about the Summer Food Service Program, School Meals, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and more in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization. What can you do? Write your members of Congress and ask them to expand and improve current federal child nutrition programs. Visit www.foodbankccs.org for more information.

Calling All Kids

Are you a kid who has wanted to volunteer at the Food Bank warehouse and just aren't old enough? This weekend there is no age limit of 11 years old at the Food Bank and we are inviting ALL AGES to come to our Open House and Family Volunteer Day. Learn more about the Food Bank and how we work while also helping to get produce ready for distribution. We will have activities for kids of all ages!

Please join us:

Sept. 12: Open house and Family Volunteer Day, Food Bank Fairfield Warehouse. No reservations required. Drop in between 2:30 and 4:30.

Sept. 13: Open house and Family Volunteer Day, Food Bank Concord Warehouse. No reservations required. Drop in between 2:30 and 4:30.

Kids you can also join Flint from Sony Pictures' Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in becoming a Hunger Helper - someone who finds ways to fight hunger in the community. Become a Hunger Helper today by making your own bookmark and even writing to your Congressman.

30 Days in 30 Ways - Week 2

Here is your second week of ways you can fight hunger in your community. If you missed week one, you can find the whole month of 30 days in 30 ways at www.foodbankccs.org.

This September, please think about what you can do to help: volunteer, donate, advocate! For more information about Hunger Action Month, these events, or just the Food Bank in general, please call 925-676-7543, email info@foodbankccs.org or visit us on the web at www.foodbankccs.org.

30 Days in 30 Ways - Week 2

Sept. 7 : Host an Eat In and tell Congress: It's time to provide America's children with real food at school. An Eat-In is a potluck that takes place in public and gathers people to support a cause - like getting real food into schools.

Sept 8: Food Nutrition Policy Consortium meeting, Food Bank Concord Warehouse. 9 - 11 am. More info: 925-676-7543 ext. 204

Sept. 9: Learn more about the Child Nutrition Reauthorization and how you can help get improve access to food for kids. Don't forget to record your minutes at the Hunger Action Center and help the Food Bank win a truckload of food from Kraft Foods.

Sept. 10: Myths and Facts of Food Stamps 9 am - noon, Fairfield. More info: 707- 421-9777 ext. 231

Sept. 11: San Pablo Community Foundation's "Starlight Martini". The "Starlight Martini" dinner dance is an elegant evening filled with great food, music, dancing, and friends. Each attendee also receives a complimentary martini glass. Cocktails at 6:00 PM and Dinner at 7:00 PM.

Sept. 12: Open house and Family Volunteer Day, Food Bank Fairfield Warehouse. No reservations required. Drop in between 2:30 and 4:30.

Sept. 13: Open house and Family Volunteer Day, Food Bank Concord Warehouse. No reservations required. Drop in between 2:30 and 4:30.

For more ideas visit our Hunger Action Month calendar online.

Helping to get the word out

Our friend Anna Chan, the Lemon Lady, has been helping to get the word out about Hunger Action Month. Anna has been harvesting fruits and veggies from people in the community who have an overabundance and taking the produce to hunger relief organizations in the community. Here's her post from Sunday, August 30, 2009: Hunger Action Month. Don't you care enough to click a little?.

Keep up the good work, Anna!

For more about Hunger Action Month, visit www.foodbankccs.org and click on the Hunger Action Month logo.