Mission & Vision
The Berkeley Food Network’s mission is to build an accessible, food-secure future for our community. We envision a community where everyone has reliable access to the nourishing food and resources they need. Our work is guided by the values Community, Dignity, Partnership, Innovation and Resiliency.
- Community – Our work is grounded in building connections and mutual support between our neighbors, partners and stakeholders.
- Dignity – We respect our community by ensuring they feel valued and are treated with compassion.
- Partnership – Our relationships are based on mutual trust and a shared purpose, addressing food insecurity and its root causes.
- Innovation – We are persistent in seeking new and better ways of supporting our community by embracing creativity and imagining new possibilities.
- Resiliency – We are steadfast and responsive to the changing needs of our community to help our neighbors thrive.
History
Berkeley Food Network was founded in 2016 to redesign hunger relief around grassroots partnerships. Before launching, BFN’s founders spent a year listening to community-based organizations in Berkeley and Albany to better understand the local landscape of food insecurity. These relationships laid the groundwork for our impact today; collaborating with partner agencies who are deeply engaged with communities in need to design and deliver services that live into our values while supporting neighbors in need.
Berkeley Food Network moved into its current warehouse at 1925 Ninth Street in Berkeley in 2019. After rapidly scaling during the pandemic, Berkeley Food Network has become the largest food assistance organization in Northern Alameda County. With diverse food assistance programs and hundreds of volunteers, BFN is able to serve thousands of community members per week.
What We Do
Anchored by our West Berkeley warehouse, our sourcing and distribution programs aim to get high-quality, healthy food to people in need. We operate several direct food assistance programs and serve as a hub for dozens of community-based organizations to shop for food for their pantries and meal programs. Altogether, we support 6,500 community members a week with healthy, no-cost food.
