25-Year-Old Food Bank Looking for Financial Help
A string of setbacks has Alameda County’s second-largest food bank in financial straits, according to volunteers there.
Hope 4 the Heart (H4H) Food Bank in Hayward has been working for 25 years to provide fresh and non-perishable food to organizations, families, and individuals in need.
However, a string of setbacks has Alameda County’s second-largest food bank in financial straits, according to volunteers there. Several key donors have restructured their grant priorities, according to H2H Fund Development Volunteer Melissa Davini. She says H4H runs an incredibly lean organization with no paid staff, rent, or fundraising expenses. She fears that without help, budget shortfalls may force a closure.
“My father, a rancher who has been volunteering with H4H for years, told me about their plight. I was devastated to think their critical poverty-alleviation work would end,” Melissa Davini told the Forum. “I am not a funding expert, but I have worked for nonprofits my whole career. I reached out to [H4H Executive Director] Victoria Popejoy. Together, we have been working to find new funding sources for the food bank: We have applied to grants, written to supply partners, and are now reaching out to the public for help.”
H4H feeds approximately 16,000 individuals monthly and supports the outreach work of more than 50 local nonprofit organizations (food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, and after-school programs). The food bank gets donations from about 35 local food suppliers, then sorts and redistributes more than 4,700,000 pounds of donated food to the community annually.
In addition to food, H4H also provides diapers, toiletries, and other non-perishable items to local families. Food and other supplies are also delivered to affordable housing apartments, senior complexes, and trailer parks, extending H2H’s reach to an additional 700 households per week.
Despite its public outreach and work with government partners, H4H has an annual budget of about $100,000 and makes every dollar count toward its mission of feeding the hungry.
“Executive Director Popejoy, a hard-working woman who also runs an in-home daycare, has personally supplemented the food bank's operations to help make ends meet over the past few years,” Davini said. “She has exhausted her ability to fill the budget shortfalls of the food bank personally and is staring down closure.”
For more information, including how to donate time or money, check out the H4H website: