How we ramped up during the COVID-19 pandemic
Watch this video about BFN’s work in 2020. Our thanks to all of you who helped to make it happen!
Category: General
Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Donate or Volunteer During this Time of Crisis
Are you able to donate to help us in our efforts to feed everyone who needs access to free food during this period of COVID-19 containment? We want to ensure that we are able to continue to serve our 5,000+ regular monthly food recipients, as well as continue to meet increased need. In particular, we […]
‘Game-changing’ $600,000 grant from Bayer Fund will support Berkeley Food Network, Alameda County Community Food Bank
The grant will allow the organizations to expand distribution sites and help fulfill increased need for food-insecure residents during the pandemic.
Major Hunger-Relief Investment Will Help Alleviate Growing Food Insecurity in Berkeley
Berkeley Food Network has tripled its efforts during the COVID-19 emergency response. $600,000 Bayer Fund grant will grow innovative partnership between Alameda County Community Food Bank and Berkeley Food Network. Berkeley, Calif. – May 19, 2020 – As the COVID-19 pandemic has driven unprecedented surges in demand for food assistance, Berkeley Food Network (BFN) and […]
Food pantries rally to help those made food insecure by COVID-19
Isalia Guerrero never expected to have trouble putting food on the table. As a house cleaner with a steady clientèle, a husband who worked 60 hours a week, and two of her three children holding part-time jobs, the family always had plenty to eat. But the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the order of Guerrero’s life […]
Meet Holden Bussey, BFN’s New Hub Kitchen Manager
A native Rhode Islander, Holden’s passion for food was cultivated in the kitchen of his parent’s natural foods restaurant. His culinary journey has included time spent as an oyster farmer, cook, and youth educator. These experiences have instilled a deep desire to work towards a food system that establishes equity and access for all. Holden […]
Hub Kitchen Ramping Up to Meet Need for Prepared Meals
We are hard at work turning excess recovered food in to delicious nutritious meals to distribute through our mobile and on-site pantry distributions. These meals are individually packaged and frozen and are particularly useful for people who have difficulty cooking for themselves or who are strapped for time. These meals are very popular and many […]
COVID-19 has perpetuated pre-existing injustices in the food system
By Evan Hazelett, BFN Research and Advocacy Manager December 8, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the realities of poverty, food insecurity, housing instability, and racial injustice in the United States. Since May, an astounding 8 million Americans have slipped into poverty. Black, Latinx, indigenous, and immigrant households have been hit particularly […]
Berkeley High Jacket – Berkeley Food Network Moves to More Permanent Location
On Thursday, September 19, hundreds gathered in a large warehouse on University Avenue to celebrate the Berkeley Food Network’s (BFN) transition from operating out of rented food storage facilities to a more permanent…
Berkeleyside – New warehouse for Berkeley Food Network will help it deliver food to the hungry
Hundreds of people gathered in a large warehouse on University Avenue Thursday evening to celebrate the building’s transformation from a…
New home for the Berkeley Food Network
We are very pleased to announce that we have been selected to lease the City of Berkeley-owned warehouse property at 1001 University Avenue to serve as our food sourcing and distribution hub. We are currently in lease negotiations with the City. Our food sourcing and distribution hub will have four functions: A distribution point for […]
Andy Olson – Making Local and Organic Accessible to Everyone
Andy Olson – Making Local and Organic Accessible to Everyone When Berkeley Food Network member Anders Olson graduated from UC Berkeley in 2010 in the midst of an economic slump, he thought long and hard about how his work in the world might make a difference. His father encouraged him to think like an entrepreneur […]
Roles and next steps determined
After a successful convening of local agencies, the Berkeley Food Network team has determined the next steps and roles. Next steps include creating a formal membership structure, the initiation of training sessions for members, and establishing network-level services. The primary roles for the Berkeley Food Network will be To be a leader for collaboration among […]
Berkeley Food Network Convenes Local Agencies for first meeting
Berkeley Food Network Convenes Local Agencies for first meeting In March Berkeley Food Network convened a gathering of individuals and agencies that are addressing food security in Berkeley. The meeting explored ways to coordinate and build on the work currently being done to meet the needs of the food insecure in Berkeley.