Our mighty food bank serves over 45,000 people per month, supplying nearly 400,000 pounds of food! By partnering with over 150 non-profits, schools, and community centers, the SLO Food Bank can distribute food across SLO County from Lake Nacimiento to California Valley to Nipomo. You may see a map of the SLO Food Bank’s Hunger Relief Network here.
Community support is essential to the continued success of our food bank. Summer is the toughest time to fill volunteer warehouse shifts where agency orders are filled, produce bags are packed, and thousands of Summer Breakfast Bags are packed in reusable backpacks for students.
Gleaning produce fields is another way to donate your time. The GleanSLO program rescues fresh produce that would have gone to waste from local farms, orchards, backyards, farmers’ markets, and grocery stores. Want to pick lettuce at Talley Farms, oranges in a private backyard, or blueberries at a blueberry farm? Volunteer with GleanSLO! Last year, 1.8 million pounds of food were gleaned, brought to the SLO Food Bank warehouse, and distributed throughout the county to alleviate hunger and build a healthier community.
With recent cuts to critical funding for local food purchasing, our food bank has created a Local Harvest Fund. Purchasing produce and food from local growers supports our business community. With this fund, farmers are ensured that they can sell all their harvest outside their farmers’ market sales. This creates economic stability and growth for our smaller, local farmers.
Fresh greens are challenging for food banks to obtain. Talley Farms delivers donated produce every week, along with precious empty boxes used in agency distribution. If you are a Talley Farms Box member, please consider donating boxes, which are delivered weekly to the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition, a partner agency of the SLO Food Bank. Just contact Talley Farms at FreshHarvest@TalleyFarms.com.
Please consider donating and volunteering at SloFoodBank.org. Every human being has the right to nutritious food, and everyone the SLO Food Bank serves deserves to be treated with kindness, respect, and dignity.
