“We started the year with 13 pantries and now we’re at 24,” said Tamara Wheeler, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at CityTeam Ministries. “That is an indicator of doubling our efforts to help more men, women and children who are needing food assistance of some kind.”

Heading into the winter months, the need for food remains a focal point for community-based organizations. And CityTeam is no different, providing food resources and necessities in areas that are most in need.

Just last week, the San Jose Sharks Foundation and SAP partnered with CityTeam in the Neighborhood for a mobile food pantry at Esperanza Middle School that will serve up to 250 households on a monthly basis.

CityTeam Volunteers pose for a quick photo during a food drive at Bridges Academy on October 6th, 2020, which was sponsored by the San Jose Sharks and SAP. Photo courtesy of Samantha Glenn.

The Sharks Foundation's $34,000 grant will help fund the mobile food pantry in East San José for the rest of 2020 and provide vital food assistance for vulnerable residents facing food insecurities.

“With so much job loss, one in three [people] are needing food assistance who didn’t before,” said Wheeler. “I think we have this really unique challenge in the San José area, in Silicon Valley and the entire Bay Area.”

Since CityTeam’s inception in 1957, the organization provides many social programs to meet the immediate needs of at-risk residents living in the Bay Area.

Neighborhood outreach programs such as resources for displaced individuals, housing and restorative programs, economic empowerment, and now food distribution, with CityTeam currently operating multiple mobile food pantries in high-risk areas of San José.

According to CityTeam in the Neighborhood, the initiative has served between 11,000 to 17,000 meals monthly through their mobile food pantries during “Shelter-In-Place”.

“We have a portion where we get food donated from the food bank, but we also purchase food as supplements,” Wheeler explained. “[Second Harvest] food bank gives us a lot of fresh produce and groceries and ready-to-eat foods, but one of the things the team has really focused on is enhancing the protein.”

The CityTeam in the Neighborhood program is a mobile food pantry with 24 locations throughout San José. Learn about operating hours, days and locations by visiting www.cityteam.org. Photo courtesy of Samantha Glenn.

During a time where more families are in need of food assistance due to the economic challenges of sheltering in place, organizations like CityTeam are able to directly support residents where it matters most: in their neighborhoods.

Numbers provided by CityTeam show that over 3,500 households have been able to access fresh produce and groceries through mobile food pantries that makes it easier for residents to get to.

Not only do mobile food pantries increase access for seniors, displaced individuals, and residents who lack transportation, they also increase availability because they are going into neighborhoods that need it the most.

“The work of delivering and having the food available in the [apartment] complex so people can come get it or having people take it to their door,” Wheeler added. “Those are two big changes.”

CityTeam’s string of community partnerships reflects a City that has come together to provide meals for vulnerable residents.

CityTeam offers a wide range of relief programs to provide necessities such as clothes and backpacks, in addition to mobile food pantries. Photo courtesy of Samantha Glenn.

According to food distribution data from the City of San José, 1.3 million meals were distributed just last week through a vast network of community partnerships.

Whether it’s meal delivery, school meal pickups or mobile food pantries, organizations are leaving no stone unturned in the fight against food insecurity.

“It really is in our kind of holistic continuum of care that we want to help our community,” said Wheeler. “Not with just one or two groups who might have immediate needs, but also people who didn't need help before.”

CityTeam is in need of donations, partners, and volunteers. Learn more by visiting www.cityteam.org today.

To find out how you can access food resources in your neighborhood, please visit bit.ly/SCCFoodMap. #SiliconValleyStrong #SVEats #KeepSVHealthy