South Bay food bank says increased holiday need is outpacing donations. Here's how to help

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A major hub for food banks in the South Bay says they're responding to an increased need in the community just two weeks from Thanksgiving.

Sixty boxes are packed in six minutes by staff and volunteers at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.

Each box contains 25 pounds of fresh produce.

It's a busy time at the food bank with Thanksgiving just two weeks away.

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Work is being done to make sure food that is still edible is kept from going into the trash and is given to those in need.

Shobana Gubbi is the Chief Philanthropy Officer for Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.

"We are providing frozen turkeys to many of our meal provider partners and we're also giving whole chickens," Gubbi said.

Currently one in six people in Silicon Valley are turning to Second Harvest for help.

"So currently the need is at a peak level, it's the same we saw during the peak height of the pandemic," Gubbi said.

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Second Harvest says they're providing food for the same number of people they did during the peak of the pandemic which was an average of 500,000 people a month.

Gubbi said now even though food assistance has increased it's without the same level of government, corporate and individual support.

"The pandemic supports went away in March of this year and since then we've seen like an increased level of need," Gubbi said.

Since need has outpaced financial donations they're now trying to rally the community to donate their time or money.

"It has immediate impact, you know, when you donate to second harvest our neighbors are getting immediate - like tangible help," Gubbi said.

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On Thursday morning volunteers packed 30,000 pounds of food. In the afternoon it was 23,000.

Toward the end of each volunteer shift a staff member will tell the group how many pounds of food they packed and for how many people it helps.

For many people during this holiday season - getting groceries is not as simple as making a list and going to the store.

"So this is the time we all want to enjoy those traditions and we want all our neighbors to have that feeling of family and hope during that time," Gubbi said.

To help, visit shfb.org.

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