It was a mixture of celebration and activism at the ribbon cutting for the new Alameda Food Bank (AFB) location at 677 West Ranger Avenue on Thursday, November 13. Just across the way is the food bank’s former location; its outdoor waiting area was flooded by a pool of rain.
During a speech, AFB Board Director Craig Hotti presented a copy of a 1977 newspaper article from the Alameda Times-Star. The clip stated that Alameda’s food bank, then operating out of a closet at the Twin Towers United Methodist Church on Oak Street, was still looking for permanent quarters.
“48 years later, here we are,” Hotti said.
The new building is close to completing its first month of operation and has been running more smoothly and effectively than AFB team members had anticipated.
“The shoppers I’ve talked to are amazed,” Hotti said. “It was pretty good over there (at the old location), but it was also cold and dingy and ugly and smaller.”
The 25% increased space of the new building has greatly increased the efficiency and speed of the food bank’s operations. “We can serve more families quicker, which means we’re not really sure what the upper limit is of how many families we can serve in a day,” Hotti said.
In anticipation of the holidays, a major improvement of AFB’s new location is that its freezers now have the capacity to store hundreds of frozen turkeys. A count of 916 frozen turkeys fit into the container the week before. The old storage could only hold 30 to 40 at a time.
AFB Warehouse Coordinator Richard Kong, who was still working preparing the next day’s distribution during the ribbon cutting, said that he hopes the new facilities encourage more people to learn about the food bank and to use its resources.
“I’m hoping from this, that clients who are not clients yet, will know that we exist. And because we exist, they can get assistance,” Kong said. “It’s a place we try to make very warm and welcoming, and we want them to know that hey, if you need help, we’re here.”
However, AFB team members also emphasize that there is always a strong need for support from the community.
“We built this building to be able to be prepared and to have capacity for in the event of an emergency. We just never expected that emergency to come up so quickly,” AFB Executive Director Teale Harden said during speeches, in reference to the federal government shutdown, which caused a delay in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The shutdown ended just one day before the food bank’s ribbon cutting.
Harden said AFB had served 1,680 families during the previous week—more than during COVID-19 lockdowns. That number was greeted by uneasy applause, as recognition of the accomplishment was simultaneously strained by the alarm of increasing need.
“There’s a perception that there’s not as much need as there is in Alameda,” Harden said. “We served about 10% of the island population last year, and people can sometimes be taken aback by that number.” Harden expressed concern over what the percentage would be this year.
Besides donations of money and food, Harden encouraged people to support local food banks in any way they can. “I would encourage people to think outside the box about what it means to support your local food organization,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be time or money. It could be advocacy.”
As an example, Harden suggested sending holiday cards that share about a personal donation and promote support for the food bank. “Just sharing something that you learned can sometimes be really powerful.”
Vicky Nguyen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Vicky-Nguyen.
