*This is a special feature from the City of San Jose, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. 

From partnering with local food banks to rescuing groceries, community food pantries are helping to alleviate food insecurity in San José despite limited resources.

“Since the initial shelter-in-place order, we have seen an increase in the number of clients we serve each week and especially over the past holidays,” said Melanie Adkins, Director of the South Valley FISH Food Pantry (FISH) located in South San José.

“The majority of our food comes from Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. We also participate in grocery rescue programs with Smart & Final and Trader Joe’s [where] our volunteers ‘rescue’ food that can be distributed to our clients.”

South Valley FISH food pantry is located at 5100 Camden Ave and is open every Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Residents in need of their services can schedule a pickup by calling 408-669-4949. Photo Courtesy of South Valley FISH.

Founded in 2016 on the campus of St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church, South Valley FISH provides food to low-income families in San José’s Cambrian area every Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Powered by a small group of pantry organizers and volunteers, South Valley FISH’s path to giving back was inspired by similar faith-based pantries.

With humble beginnings and a commitment to helping the less fortunate, Adkins represents a growing number of food pantry organizers that have stepped up distribution efforts to fill nutrition voids brought on by COVID-19.

“Due to our relatively smaller size, we feel we have more of a personal connection with our clients. We get to hear their stories, what’s been happening in their lives,” Adkins admitted.

“It helps to give us a better perspective on how we can best serve our community.”

For the last four-and-a-half years, South Valley FISH has provided free meals and groceries through Second Harvest Food bank (SHFB), direct food donations, and monetary donations.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the food pantry no longer accepts direct food donations, but they have been able to continue distribution efforts thanks to the generosity of community donors and volunteers.

Volunteers and pantry organizers provide shelf-stable food and fresh groceries for 10 different zip codes in the City of San José. Consider making a financial donation by visiting www.svfish.org/donate today. Photo Courtesy of South Valley FISH.

According to distribution data provided by South Valley FISH, the nonprofit serves an average of 45 families per week — with a total of 2,073 families in 2020.

When examining the need for food assistance in the City of San José, looking at community food pantries like South Valley FISH paints a picture of increasing demand despite being 10 months into a pandemic.

South Valley FISH now serves double the number of families, from 1,082 families in 2019 to over 2,000 families in 2020, according to Adkins.

“Since the initial shelter-in-place, FISH quickly adapted their distributions to not only incorporate COVID-19 safety protocols, but to meet the increasing demand of the number of clients.” said Adkins.

“We serve without an agenda and without judgment. We don’t always know someone’s reason for coming to FISH, but we know many more are struggling during the pandemic.”

The leadership team of South Valley FISH Food Pantry pose for a quick photo wearing personal protective equipment behind the scenes of a distribution day. Photo Courtesy of South Valley FISH.

Over the holidays, South Valley FISH served 152 families for Thanksgiving and 128 families during Christmas, a remarkable achievement considering volunteers sometimes start as young as 8th grade.

According to data provided by the City, SHFB provided 173,512 daily meals to nonprofit partners like South Valley FISH, with 1.2 million meals served in the City of San José just last week.

Despite the day-to-day challenges of running a close-knit operation, small food pantries like South Valley FISH represent how communities in San José are coming together to feed neighbors in need.

“To quote one of our clients, ‘ There is no reason for anyone to go hungry in this area.’ If you need help please come see us,” said Adkins during an email exchange.

“If we can offer just a little bit of help to those facing food insecurity, perhaps those we serve will let others know where help can be found.”

Organizations like South Valley FISH Food Pantry are in need of volunteers and donations. Visit www.svfish.org to learn how you can help feed neighbors in need of food assistance.

To find out how you can access food resources in your neighborhood, please visit bit.ly/SCCFoodMap. You can also visit siliconvalleystrong.org, call 2-1-1, a 24-hour multilingual service or text your zip code to "898211".

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