Happy new year! As we look back on 2024, one thing is for sure: YOU made a huge impact on our community each and every day.
While it was a year of ups and downs, your dedication to your neighbors facing hunger in 2024 was always inspiring. We’re so proud to have you in our community of hunger fighters.
The ways you showed up for your neighbors are countless – but here are 10 of our favorite moments you made possible.
Your voices were heard – loud and clear!
We celebrated major wins in the fight against hunger! Following the release of our 2024 Legislative Agenda, eight of our community advocates met with state representatives and fought for systematic change. The result? Boosts to CalFresh and Market Match, and wins for school meals and disaster victims. We couldn’t have done it without hunger fighters like YOU, who signed petitions and made your voices heard.
We celebrated new volunteer spaces together
With 7,000 of you volunteering last year and putting in over 100,000 hours (wow!), it was a thrill to share our upgraded volunteer centers. We had so much fun hosting you at our open houses in Concord and Fairfield – and at bagging, boxing and food sorting shifts ever since.
We distributed more nutritious food than ever before
Fresh, healthy food is delicious… and a form of health care! The right foods can prevent, manage and even reverse health issues. Last year we were able to get more healthy, whole foods to our neighbors: 65% of the food you helped provide was fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and proteins. That’s 5% more than in 2023!
Food Bank advocates took D.C.
Two of our community advocates were chosen to join Feeding America’s second annual Elevating Voices Power Summer in Washington, D.C. Our representatives were among just 50 advocates selected to share their lived expertise to advocate for better food access and help guide the Food Bank’s policy agenda.
Our schools were filled with hunger-fighting heroes!
From the students at Concord High School, who Scared Away Hunger with a Halloween food drive, to Acalanes High School’s record-breaking homecoming Food and Fund Drive, young people in our community showed they’re ready and able to take part in the fight against hunger! Not only were they fundraising heroes, local kids were also dedicated volunteers – like the students at Core Academy, who take time out of their days to sort produce in our Fairfield Warehouse.
Kids ate even better on weekends
Students have access to food at school, but what about weekends? We partner with 122 schools to provide take-home packs of food so kids have healthy meals when school’s not in session. You helped us improve menus for these Kids Nutrition on Weekends (K-NOW) packs and now we’re providing kids with more nutritious, fresh options than ever before!
Our mobile pantry delivered food “prescriptions”
Solano County neighbors whose medical providers have prescribed nutritious shelf-stable food and fresh produce for health conditions can visit our Mobile Food Pharmacy. Fruits and vegetables are always available, and prescriptions from doctors and dentists are filled with a 20-pound box of healthy food.
You kept us moving 7 days a week
From making donations to volunteering at our warehouses and distribution sites, your support got fresh, healthy food to every corner of Contra Costa and Solano counties. It only takes one truckload to change lives in the community, and you helped us deliver every single day!
We won an award for innovation (thanks to you!)
As one of five organizations in the Food Security Collaborative, we were awarded a $100,000 Impact Grant! Your support and volunteer hours contributed greatly to this honor, allowing us to do innovative work aimed at ending food insecurity. The funds are being used to create a comprehensive Food Security Equity Map, which identifies underserved communities in our neighborhoods.
That’s a wrap! Our three-year strategic plan comes to an end
Your support has allowed us to make great strides in fighting hunger! Our three-year strategic plan has come to a close, and together we’ve made improvements in tech and data, partnered with more nonprofits and helped improve health outcomes for our neighbors. Look for a full report on the plan’s outcome soon. Thank you, hunger fighters!
BONUS HIGHLIGHT: We Welcomed a new President and CEO
In March lifelong hunger fighter Caitlin Sly joined the Food Bank as our new President and Chief Executive Officer! Caitlin previously served as Executive Director of Meals on Wheels Diablo Region, where she helped improve food access for older adults. But before that, she was a longtime Food Banker – and helped build many of the nutrition and children’s programs we still run today!
Let’s Keep in Touch
Want to see more feel-good stories like these in 2025? Sign up for Food Bank updates! We’ll share new hunger-fighting events and opportunities, stories of your hunger-fighting impact – and a seasonal recipe every month.
