Demand for SLO County food bank triples during coronavirus. Here’s how you can help
The SLO Food Bank saw the economic impact of coronavirus as soon as the shelter-at-home order went into place.
Recently hired SLO Food Bank CEO Garret Olson said his first indicator of economic struggle was the number of people who started showing up at the nonprofit organization’s San Luis Obispo warehouse searching for a distribution site.
The warehouse is not one of the food bank’s distribution sites, but Olson said they don’t let people walk away empty-handed.
“When people are new to hunger, they’ll google ‘SLO Food Bank’ and come here,” said Olson, former fire chief of the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department. “They woke up hungry and lost.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, someone would come to the warehouse seeking a distribution site about once a day, he said. When the shelter-at-home order went into place, people started showing up nearly every hour, Olson said.
According to Olson, the demand for food tripled nearly overnight.
In a report to San Luis Obispo County on May 15, the food bank projected that it will have had a 70% total increase from January to the end of May in pounds of food delivered through their three distribution methods.
That equates to more than 450,000 pounds of food distributed in May.
The food bank distributes food in three ways — through 77 different partner agencies that have pick-up sites and food pantries throughout the county, through a neighborhood food distribution service and, in partnership with the county, directly to homes of self isolating individuals.
From January to the end of May, the food bank has projected a 172% increase in pounds of food delivered to its partner agencies, according to the report.
The food bank’s neighborhood distribution service is projected to see a 205% increase in households served, the report said.
In January and February, the service served about 3,000 households. In April, it served more than 8,000 households, and in May, it expects to be serving around 9,000.
Through the county’s home delivery service, the food bank serves approximately 1,000 households per week — or as Olson said, about 40,000 pounds of food per week.
Olson said his “canary in the coal mine” for economic recovery will be when the number of people who show up to the warehouse slows.
So far, he said, the warehouse “hasn’t seen the faucet shut off.” And Olson said he doesn’t think it will any time soon.
“We anticipate it won’t be weeks or months until we come back to a new normal, that it will likely be years before our community recovers,” Olson said. “So we’re planning for that long haul.”
SLO County partners with SLO Food Bank
The SLO Food Bank and the county partnered together early on during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Olson, the county provided the food bank with $650,000 in emergency funds.
In return, the food bank has used its vendor agreements to purchase food in bulk and operate the county’s free food distribution service for community members who are self-isolating.
“It’s really a great partnership between the county and the food bank making the best use of both of our areas of expertise,” Olson said.
Olson said the food bank has used all of the money provided by the county to purchase food for their operations.
Some of the food is in the San Luis Obispo warehouse at 1180 Kendall Road. Some food is housed in a county warehouse at Camp San Luis Obispo and some has not yet arrived.
The county also reassigned many county employees to work at the food bank when their everyday jobs were put on hold.
How you can help
While the county’s help is extremely helpful and appreciated, Olson said, about 75% of the organization’s funding comes from community donations.
“We are a food bank focused on serving the community powered by the generosity of this community,” Olson said.
Olson said any monetary donation is helpful.
“For the same cost for a monthly subscription to Netflix, you can feed 45 people, you can provide 45 meals,” Olson said.
According to Olson, each dollar donated to the food bank results in $4 of food because of the nonprofit’s bulk-buying vendor agreements.
“If someone was going to go out and buy a $1 worth of canned tuna for us, we would rather have them give us that dollar because we can buy $4 worth of that canned tuna for the same amount,” Olson said.
He also asked that people consider becoming sustaining donors, similar to a monthly subscription model, because the needs of people who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 will outlast the initial calls for help.
“We know that in a couple of months the headlines are going to change and we’ll be talking about elections or we’ll be talking about the next disaster,” Olson said. “But we know that many thousands of San Luis Obispo County residents are going to continue to suffer the effects of this pandemic, financially and emotionally for a long long time.”
To donate or volunteer visit slofoodbank.org.
The food bank is also fundraising for Hunger Awareness Day on June 5 and will host a virtual tour.
The food bank will go live on Instagram on Friday, June 5 to introduce Olson as the new CEO and give viewers a behind-the-scenes look into their operations.
They will also have a physical drive-through donation site at SESLOC Federal Credit Union on Broad Street in San Luis Obispo from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Hunger Awareness Day and are asking for volunteers.
Visit Hunger Awareness Day fundraiser or text “FEED805” to 707070 donate directly to hunger awareness efforts until June 5.
A local winery is chipping in as well.
Ragtag Wine Co., a San Luis Obispo winery, is donating 50% of their online sales to the food bank of their customer’s shipping address, according to a news release. The donation is going on through June 15.
The wine company, which is planning on opening a tasting room in downtown San Luis Obispo, said they are hoping to raise $300,000 for food banks across California, including the SLO Food Bank.
Where to get food if you’re in need
Many free food options are available to San Luis Obispo County during the coronavirus pandemic.
Most of the food bank’s partner agencies distribute their food through pantries.
The food bank’s neighborhood distribution service provides families across the county with bags of nonperishable food and fresh produce that equal about 12 meals, or about 40 pounds worth of food.
“If people in our community need us we’re here for them,” Olson said. “If you’re struggling to get by and you’re making it, we are rooting for you, but know that we are here to catch you if you fall.”
The food bank’s distribution sites and partner pantries can be found at slofoodbank.org/food-locater.
Olson said all the food delivered through the food bank is nutritional. Anything without nutritional value that is donated to the food bank is given out separately from the bags of nutritional meals as a bonus, he said.
Another free food option available through the food bank is the county’s delivery service for self-isolating individuals who are over the age of 65, have chronic illnesses or have been exposed to COVID-19. To register, go to the county’s website at www.emergencyslo.org/en/food-and-prescriptions-for-self-isolating-residents.aspx.
Olson said the food bank also highly recommends people in need register for Cal Fresh, California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Due to COVID-19, he said, many of the thresholds that previously prevented people from signing up for a EBT card have been removed.
More food options throughout the county can be found at ReadySLO.org.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
