Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo’s services are all about stoping and preventing hunger. There is information available to needy families in multiple languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and others. The hot-line below provides referrals to local food banks and government benefit application sites.
CalFresh is a program that provides food assistance to families living in poverty. The state’s primary USDA sponsored supplemental food program helps low-income individuals and families obtain nutritious groceries that are necessary for them to stay healthy. There are many places in Santa Clara and the surrounding area where this item can be obtained. The team at Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties can explain how the food donation process works.
The CalFresh program provides benefits in the form of an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, which can be used like a debit card at participating stores. This then allows the client to shop for groceries and fresh produce using their CalFresh card. This means that you can use your food stamps at many different stores and markets in these areas. This approach provides families with the ability to choose nutritious foods that they want to eat.
The CalFresh program not only provides groceries for low-income families, but also benefits the local economy by supporting local businesses. People who live in the US and have a low to moderate income, as well as most legal residents, can usually get food stamps. Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for this program.
There may be some exceptions made to the rule, such as if the person is applying for their children who are legal residents or citizens. Other programs from the Second Harvest Food Bank are available for households that don’t meet the income criteria.
The Brown Bag for Seniors Program provides assistance to elderly and older residents. The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo County will provide free, nutritious food to seniors, including fresh produce, dairy, cereal, rice, ground turkey, formula, and other staples. It helps those who have a set income and might not be able to pay for basic things like medication, housing, food or utilities.
Many seniors skip meals or buy unhealthy food because it is cheaper, but this is not good for their health. This approach can often lead to seniors not getting the nutrients they need, which can cause medical problems. Second Harvest is a program that not only provides food for participants, but also gives them the opportunity to join hundreds of volunteers at different pickup sites, such as pantries and soup kitchens, in Santa Clara County.
By adding this extra step, they are able to make friends, join cooking classes, connect with people that have similar interests, and feel a sense of community. Not to mention, the satisfaction of helping others. Other benefits of the Brown Bag program include workshops and activities related to food safety, eating habits, and food handling. Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo produces newsletters and other materials on health and nutrition in multiple languages to reach all members of the region’s diverse population.
Many families have to carefully budget every month and often have to sacrifice buying healthier foods because they are more expensive. Many of the families that turn to Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo live in areas where it is difficult to access fresh produce from full-service grocery stores or supermarkets. The lack of health items makes the nutritional problem worse in the area, with many people having to resort to fast food restaurants and convenience stores.
There is a lack of access to healthy food options in these areas, which can lead to poor health, especially for vulnerable groups like children and the elderly. This can have devastating consequences, including malnutrition, mental health issues, childhood obesity, lack of energy, diminished school performance, and difficulties with learning.
The Family Harvest Program helps low-income families with children under eighteen by giving them free groceries each month. This means that every month, each person will get three or four bags of food. This food will include ground turkey, eggs, pasta, fresh produce, canned goods, frozen foods, and other nutritious items.
Family Harvest members also benefit from workshops and events held in Santa Clara County. These events include workshops on subjects such as gardening, canning, and beekeeping, as well as events such as harvest festivals and farm tours. The food bank will have community nutritionists that will provide information on healthy eating habits, opportunities to try new foods, and newsletters in different languages. This resource will share information on various recipes, health and nutrition issues, and food-handling instructions.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties offers families the opportunity to volunteer each month at local pantries. This allows people to sort, pack, and distribute food to their neighbors, which helps the community.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Produce Mobile Program helps low income residents get fresh fruits and vegetables. If an applicant lives close to a grocery store or farmers’ market, economic limitations can make it difficult or impossible to get the healthy foods they need.
A lot of the agencies clients reported that they eat less produce than they want because it costs too much. This is because the agricultural economy in northern California is larger than that of any other state. There are many farms that provide high-quality fruits and vegetables to households.
Obesity and diabetes is common among working poor households, which disproves the popular belief that people who are struggling to buy food can be overweight. Low income families often have to choose between buying healthy food and being able to pay their bills. Junk food is usually cheaper than healthy food, so many families choose to buy the junk food even though it is not good for them. The Food Bank at Second Harvest is committed to ensuring that members in need of help have access to fresh fruits and vegetables in order to battle the increasing societal trends of hunger and obesity and establish positive lifelong eating habits for children.
Other charities help to make this happen. This Farm to Family Program is a partnership between growers, pantries, soup kitchens, and Feeding America that provides food to those in need. Produce Mobile would like to give a special thank you to the individuals and companies who have donated refrigerated trucks. These donations have allowed us to provide fresh produce to those in need.