Title: Program Manager, San Francisco Food Bank
Hometown: Seattle
1. How did the food pantry program come about?
When the food bank moved into a large warehouse we realized we didn't have enough agency partners to distribute all the food. After reviewing census information, we saw there was a real lack of services available to people who weren't homeless. We decided to take a neighborhood approach that would better serve the people of areas like the Sunset and Richmond, Chinatown, not just Civic Center, the Tenderloin, etc. We partnered with sites that weren't necessarily used to doing social service programs like churches and community centers. Initially people had no idea what we were talking about!
But once some sites were up and running then the programs really took off. We call it "farmers market style". It's a choice model where people can take what they want and can use, just like shopping at a farmers market.
2. What do you do as program manager?
I'm responsible for making sure the food gets out, and into the hands of the people who need it. For example I go out and meet with tenants associations and take people on tours of other pantries. I look for ways to do what we do better like setting up a pilot shopping grant program to help organizations get set up. We try to figure out which schools and housing developments we can partner with,.