Celeste Merryman

The Pantry Shelf – Newsletter May 2025

May 5, 2025

The Pantry Shelf is the San Lorenzo Family Help Center newsletter, connecting and creating a community of people on a mission to defeat hunger in Alameda County. Donate today to automatically subscribe to our newsletter via email.

Top Self - Our Programs

Our families are top shelf! We continue to grow, defeating hunger by feeding more and more households in the unincorporated areas in and surrounding San Lorenzo, CA.

In-Store Program

Our clients are individuals, families, seniors, immigrants, unhoused, disabled, and people in domestic violence shelters. More than 94% are people of color. More than 97% of our clients are under the Federal Poverty line, and far too many qualify in the extremely low-income bracket.

In April, we had a slight dip as a result of having an extra day closed to celebrate Easter weekend. We continue to increase number of people we are reaching. In April, we added 46 new clients.

Farmer's Market Truck Update - Mobile Pantry Program

We are THRILLED to announce that we have reached 50% support and the truck will be placed in line for production. This truck will provide food access to families that find it difficult to come to the brick and mortar pantry. Our new mobile truck will be bringing healthy food right into the communities near them.

Frederick Laforge, founder and CEO of Farmers’ Truck (builder of our truck) paid us a visit to learn more about our organization, and discuss our future needs once our new mobile pantry truck is delivered.

Middle Shelf - Events & Activities

April was National Volunteer Month

We are full of gratitude and praise for our 100-person volunteer crew. Our volunteers include dedicated staff of retired and working adults, high school youth from leadership organizations like Global Leadership Initiatives for Youth, college students on internships, veterans, and those working off court-assigned community service hours. This large group of people helps us to serve more than 900 families each month.

Our volunteers help with food-related roles like receiving and sorting, organizing and putting food on shelves or tables for distribution, and engage families in food selection. We also have volunteers that do non-food related roles like driving vehicles for food recovery pickups, interacting with our clients at check-in and making appointments, even event photography, and fundraising.

We are currently looking for drivers for our food pick ups. If you have a clean driving record and a large van or truck we want your help. Reach out to us at slzfoodbank@gmail.com.

Out and About at Easter Eggstravaganza

We were out at the 17th ANNUAL CHERRYLAND EGGSTRAVAGANZA, on April 12th. Lots of people came by our booth and learned about the important work we do for our community. We even gained a volunteer, or two.

Job Resource Fair - San Lorenzo Adult School

Sometimes people need more than a job; they need to know where to get nutritous food. That’s why, when asked to be a part of the Job Resource Fair held by the San Lorenzo Adult school on April 24th, we said “YES.” San Lorenzo Family Help Center is all about providing resources and giving people a hand up.

Stocking Our Shelves

In April we found out we will be recipients of $6,000 from our grant submission to Altamont Settlement Agreement-Education Advisory Board. The grant money goes directly to supporting our food recovery work with our food recovery partners. We are grateful for these funds, they help us #defeathunger and support food justice in Alameda County.

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

There are many ways to support the work we do at the San Lorenzo Family Help Center (SLFHC). In addition to one-time or monthly donations please consider:

Hosting a fundraiser on our behalf – create an event and invite friends and neighbors, then donate the funds to SLFHC.
Use your company giving platform and matching program – look to see if San Lorenzo Family Help Center is in your company non-profit donation platform. If we are not, then ask how they can add us.

Leave a legacy and add us to your estate plan – When you include the San Lorenzo Family Help Center in your estate plan, your generosity ensures an impact well into the future.

Around the Corner

Keep an eye out on our newsletter and website for upcoming events and activities; we have some ideas for baking in the oven.

The Pantry Shelf – Newsletter April 2025

April 7, 2025

Top Shelf - Our Programs

Our families are top shelf! We continue to grow, defeating hunger by feeding more and more households in the unincorporated areas in and surrounding San Lorenzo, CA.

In-Store Program

Since the start of 2025, we’ve steadily increased the numbers of families we served each month (from January to March is a 9.5% growth over the year).

We added 87 new clients in March.

Mobile Pantry Program

In March we partnered with the San Lorenzo Emanuelu Samoan Free Methodist Church congregational members to distribute nutritious food to 87 clients.

Middle Shelf - Volunteer Highlight

This month we shine a light on our SLFHC Hayward Advisory Committee. All of the advisory committee members live in Hayward, volunteer their time on a quarterly basis, and provide valuable insights to our Board of Directors. This committee was created in 2024 and is composed of Hayward residents whose singular purpose is to ensure that we are addressing and meeting the food-related needs of Hayward residents.

Our current Hayward Advisory Committee includes: Milinda Mayfield – Committee Chair, Janet Linh, Maria De Los Angeles Campos, and Val Watts. We appreciate the time and work this committee has done to grow the programs that service the Hayward community.

If you are a Hayward resident and would like to provide topics for this committee to discuss, please mail your comments to:

SLFHC
Attn: Hayward Advisory Board
20960 Corsair Blvd
Hayward, CA. 94545

Stocking Our Shelves

In March, we received a $3000 grant from the Hayward Rotary Club Community Grants Committee. More than 60 nonprofits were invited to apply for the grants this year. With money largely raised through the club’s work at concession booths during the 2024 Rowell Ranch Rodeo, the Rotary was able to give out a total of $51,000 to local nonprofits and schools. For over 100 year, the Hayward Rotary Club has supported the Hayward community through their work.

We are grateful for the rotary club’s fiancial support which helps us #defeathunger in Alameda County.

Turn the Page, Fill a Plate Fundraiser

We are grateful to the community members for their participation and donations of approximately $2,000. The generous financial donations from our Turn the Page, Fill a Plate fundraiser go directly to feeding clients of the San Lorenzo Family Help Center.

All the food shared during the open house, was provided by our amazing food recovery partners. Enjoy the photo is gallery of photos from our open house on March 15, 2025.

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

There are many ways to support the work we do at the San Lorenzo Family Help Center (SLFHC). In addition to one-time or monthly donations please consider:

Hosting a fundraiser on our behalf – create an event and invite friends and neighbors, then donate the funds to SLFHC.
Use your company giving platform and matching program – look to see if the San Lorenzo Family Help Center is in your company non-profit donation platform. If we are not, then ask if they can add us. And spread the word.
Leave a legacy and add us to your estate plan – When you include the San Lorenzo Family Help Center in your estate plan, your generosity ensures an impact well into the future.

Around the Corner

Look for us out at the 17th ANNUAL CHERRYLAND EGGSTRAVAGANZA, Saturday April 12th, 11:00 am – 3:00 PM; Meek Estate Park, 240 Hampton Road in Hayward.

Activities include:

Egg Hunts: 1-12 years old – Bring a Basket
Bonnet & Hat Parade Contest: Categories: Victorian, Most Unusual, Funniest, Character, Baby Bonnet & Best in Show

The Pantry Shelf – Newsletter March 2025

March 6, 2025

Top Shelf - Our Programs

Our families are top shelf! We continue to grow, defeating hunger in more and more households in the unincorporated areas in and surrounding San Lorenzo, CA.

Creating a connected community focused on defeating hunger in Alameda County is more important than ever right now. In early February, Janelle Morimoto, our Executive Director, attended the Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB) quarterly meeting with 130 other people who gathered together with one purpose: talk about defeating hunger in Alameda County. A portion of the meeting was set aside to discuss a growing trend in Alameda County food pantries right now — people are starting to be afraid to seek food assistance.

Hunger affects people of color in higher proportions and the San Lorenzo Family Help Center approaches the recent issues and treats all people as if it were our own family that was being denied our human rights. We are committed and dedicated to serving people in Alameda County who need food assistance.

In-Store Program

We started off January and February 2025 picking up where we left off at the end of 2024. We continue growing the numbers of families we support in the San Lorenzo, San Leandro, Hayward, and Castro Valley areas.

Mobile Pantry Program

Updated on Our Farmer's Market Truck

We are making progress towards our goal of a $120,000 (50% of the full amount) down payment to build our Farmer’s Market Truck. So far we have sent $80,000 to the builders and once we hit the $120,000, they can start building.

Your continued financial support is important as we work to get the Farmer’s Market Truck built and on the road.

Please consider donating today!

Stocking Our Shelves

Grant funding is a large percentage of the income that enables us to support our clients and fill their plates with food. We continue to apply for grants through local government, as well as other opportunities. But the grants are not enough to operate the Pantry at the level required. We rely on the donations from our community members like you, as well.

Turn the Page, Fill a Plate - Fundraiser

We believe through community building and working together, we can defeat hunger in Alameda County. You can support our work by participating in the Turn the Page, Fill a Plate and support our clients of the San Lorenzo Family Help Center. Your donations go directly to filling plates for people in the San Lorenzo, San Leandro, Hayward, and Castro Valley areas.

In the spirit of “blind date with a book” when you donate, you receive a surprise, pre-wrapped book and/or a reading shawl as a thank you. You choose your donation level and the genre, then meet us for a book reveal open house on March 15th. We believe through community building and working together, we can defeat hunger in Alameda County.

About the Auction

The online auction is currently open and closes March 14th, 8 PM (Pacific). All items are new, recent or yet to be released books, donated to the San Lorenzo Family Help Center by a local book club. Most items are fixed bid; a few limited, special edition items are set up for bidding.

How It Works

Click on the Auction link at the top of the Turn the Page, Fill a Plate donation campaign
Find and select your donation level and book genre (and/or reading shawl).
Donate and reserve your item.
Pick up your items at our Open House.

Book Reveal Open House

Pick up your book and/or shawl in person, at our Turn the Page, Fill a Plate – Book Reveal Open House on Saturday, March 15th, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM (Pacific), at our location 20960 Corsair Blvd, Hayward, CA 94545, USA

Join us for food, drinks, and socializing in our new pantry. Check out additional live auction items on March 15th. Please share this fundraiser with all your friends and bring them along to the book reveal party – the more the merrier. A donation is not a requirement to join in the open house.

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

There are many ways to support the work we do at the San Lorenzo Family Help Center (SLFHC). In addition to one-time or monthly donations please consider:

Hosting a fundraiser on our behalf – create an event and invite friends and neighbors, then donate the funds to SLFHC.
Use your company giving platform and matching program – check out to see if your company has a giving program.
Leave a legacy and add us to your estate plan – When you include the San Lorenzo Family Help Center in your estate plan, your generosity ensures an impact well into the future.

The Pantry Shelf – Newsletter January 2025

February 1, 2025

Top Shelf - Our Programs

California Updates Food Labeling Starting July 1, 2026

California has chosen to define dates on food to better inform Californians and reduce food waste. Starting July 1, 2026 the California Law AB 660 goes into effect and “BEST if Used By” will be used to communicate peak quality, and “Use By” will be used to communicate product safety. You can read more about the new law at California Passes Landmark Date Labeling Law.

Stopwaste.org recommends we trust our senses when determining what we eat. Ask questions like is it moldy, lumpy, off color, in a crushed, dirty or rusty can or torn packaging. If the answer is yes, then compost the food. Other questions to ask should be does it have a foul odor or a slimy or shiny outer coat. Food should look good, smell good and of course taste good.

Food borne illnesses are serious. However, those illnesses tend to be caused by cross-contamination and letting food sit at room temperature too long, promoting the growth of bacteria. Find out more about how to read and understand current food labels at Stopwaste.org Food Date Labels.

In-Store Program

Our families are top shelf! We continue to grow, defeating hunger in more and more households in the unincorporated areas in and surrounding San Lorenzo, CA.

We ended 2024 providing nutritious food to 877 unique families in the month of December. As we start 2025, in January we supported 869 families. In comparison, last January (2024) we were just settling into our new warehouse and provided food to 322 families.

Middle Shelf - Partners & Volunteers

Volunteer Spotlight - Anne Milner

Our volunteer of the month is Anne Milner, our out-going Board of Directors President.

Anne started at the food pantry six years ago, filling bags with dry foods. She then moved into signing in clients for their food pick-ups, and eventually moved on to Board of Directors.

Anne was instrumental during the early days of the pandemic when the Pantry became a drive-through for food distribution. She could be seen pushing a computer cart around in the parking lot signing in clients at their car window. As the President of the Board of Directors Anne worked with Janelle Morimoto (Executive Director of the Pantry) to orchestrate our move to the new warehouse, providing an in-store shopping experience for our clients.

Anne is retiring from both the Board of Directors, as well as her volunteer work in the Pantry. When asked what Anne liked most, she had this to say “I like being a friend, working with other volunteers, and being able to apply my organizational skills even after retirement.”

We thank Anne for all the great work. She was recognized in 2024 for her volunteerism at the Pantry and was presented with the President’s Volunteer Recognition Award signed by President Biden.

Our Annual Meeting - January 26, 2025

Once a year the San Lorenzo Family Help Center holds an Annual Meeting where volunteers, donors, community members, get together to enjoy good food and each other’s company. Thank you to Kelly McCarthey, for catering our event. Kelly recently retired as the Bancroft Hotel catering director.

The meeting this year was held at the San Lorenzo Public Library. As you can see from the photos below, we had great food and great fun and a turn out of about 45 people.

New Board Members Elected in January 2025

At our Annual Meeting January 26, 2025 we voted in six new board members adding to the three continuing members — Chris Morin (Vice President), Elizabeth Brennan (Secretary), and Celeste Merryman (Member At Large).

The Board of Directors are all volunteers and during 2024, the board thoughtfully updated the bi-laws to expand the board of directors to nine people. The board is excited to expand and believe the additional numbers will provide the support necessary to expand and grow the San Lorenzo Family Help Center. The mission of the Pantry is to defeat hunger in Alameda County.

Officers will be elected on February 12, 2025.

Around the Corner

To stay up to date on what we are doing and where we are follow us on Facebook @ San Lorenzo Family Help Center, or on our website.

The Pantry Shelf – Newsletter December 2024

December 31, 2024

In this December 2024 edition, we celebrate some of the great accomplishments this year.

Top Shelf - Our Programs

In-Store Program

January through December 2024, we’ve supported 1,604 unique families through our store-like shopping pantry at Corsair.

The chart at the right shows the number of families per month who have received assistance, 322 to 877 is a 172% increase in the year 2024.

Mobile Pantry Program

In November 2024, we served 89 individuals/families through our mobile pantry program and in December 2024 we served 149 individuals/families.

Shout out to the Free Mason group (see photo to the left with our Executive Director, Janelle Morimoto in the orange SF Giants hat) who volunteered at one of our December mobile pantry sites.

Our mobile program is taking a break in January and February, resuming when the farms and fields become full with fruits and vegetables in early spring.

Update on Our Farmer's Market Truck

We will be bringing you the next Farmer’s Truck update, after the holidays.

Middle Shelf - Partners & Volunteers

Food Recovery Program & Volunteers

Through our Food Recovery Program in 2024 we brought in 373,078 pounds of foods

In 2024, our 14 volunteers averaged 16 sites per week, picking up foods and goods. This tremendous effort is made possible through partnerships with our 21 food recovery partner, coordination of our executive director, and our volunteer drivers.

This month we want to acknowledge and shine a light on our volunteer drivers who go out week after week and pick up from the sites. They work behind the scenes and make our food distribution possible.

Bike Donation from Kids Bike Lane

For several years, Kids Bike Lane has been partnering with SLFHC to provide new bicycles and helmets to children at Christmas time. This year, the Pantry received a donation of 34 bikes and helmets which were distributed on December 14th to children of families we assist.

Several volunteers helped to distribute the bikes to families. For those smaller children we gave new toys, donated from local families. A huge thank you to our bicycle mechanic volunteer, Glenn Morimoto, who serviced all the bicycles, pumping tires, checked brakes and adjusted seat heights making the bike the perfect fit for each recipient.

Photo at the right is a mom and her two children who received bikes and helmets in December 2024.

Stocking Our Shelves

Giving Tuesday Donations

We raised $1000 on Giving Tuesday. We appreciate your donations during the global focused time.

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

Donated Proceeds – Calvary Lutheran Church Community Concert

On November 30th, the Calvary Lutheran Church of San Lorenzo held a community concert benefiting the San Lorenzo Family Help Center. Pastor Matt Behren and team did an amazing job organizing the concert, bringing together eight different corral and music groups who performed Christmas-themed music to a warm and respective crowd. Our own Tony Contreras, a SLFHC volunteer, performed with his band Karamba and got people grooving to the Brazilian beats.

Together raised $2,368 and those donating $50 or more, received a fleece as a thank you gift.

Food Drives Benefiting The Pantry

Several local schools and youth organizations hosted food drives for us in the month of December. We are so appreciative of the youth focused on supporting our efforts to defeat hunger in Alameda County. It takes a village to feed the village.

Three elementary schools and one middle school in San Lorenzo Unified School District collected food and donated the items to benefit the families in their community. Teachers at these schools are leading the way to share with their students about how important it is that everyone gets food to eat. Shout out to the schools below who ran food drives for us:

Bohannon Middle School
Grant Elementary School, collected and proudly donated over 1,000 items of food
Bay Elementary School
Del Rey Elementary School

Youth Groups

The San Lorenzo Little League collected over 300 pounds of food in November after hosting a local food drive to benefit SLFHC and the San Lorenzo community.
Scouts Troops 612 & 2612 donated over 600 pounds of food from their area-wide food drive.

Preschools

Lea’s preschool, located at the Calvary Lutheran Church property in San Lorenzo has an ongoing food drive to benefit families served by the SLFHC food pantry.
Loving Hearts Preschool in San Lorenzo took the job a step further and provided can openers along with the canned food to make sure all recipients of our pantry could enjoy the food provided.

Grants & Funding

An awarded $25,000 grant from Eden Health District will help us increase services and access to food assistance for families in San Leandro and the unincorporated Eden area, starting in January 2025.

The City of San Leandro, Community Food Services Program awarded us a $16,000 grant to support food insecurity and promote equitable access to nutritious meals for residents in our community.

Around the Corner

Annual Meeting to be held January 26, 2024

Our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday January 26 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the San Lorenzo Library, located at 395 Paseo Grande, San Lorenzo, CA.

Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to slzfoodbank@gmail.com.

The Pantry Shelf – Newsletter November 2024

November 25, 2024

Check out what’s on the shelves in November 2024.

Top Shelf - Our Programs

Our families are top shelf! After moving to our new location at 20960 Corsair Blvd, we’ve been growing and defeating hunger in more and more households in the unincorporated areas in and surrounding San Lorenzo, CA.

In-Store Program

Since January 2024, we’ve supported 1458 unique families through our store-like shopping pantry at Corsair. The chart at the right shows the number of families per month who have received assistance, 322 to 859 a 167% increase.

Mobile Pantry Program

We will be out at the San Lorenzo Emanuelu Samoan Free Methodist Church on December 7th. Partnering with them we distribute nutritious produce to approximately 100 clients each Saturday we are there.

Update on Our Farmer's Market Truck

Honk, honk and thank you to those that donated so far to our truck build and supporting our expansion of our Mobile Pantry Program. So far, we’ve received $7,450 from individual donors.

While our donor matching has ended, your continued financial support is important as we work to get the Farmer’s Market Truck built. Make your donations here.

Middle Shelf - Partners & Volunteers

Food Recovery Partners

In January 2024, SB 1383 expanded the “reduce waste” requirement to restaurants, schools, and hospitals with the expectation they donate excess food to distribution centers. In October we welcomed our newest Food Recovery Partner Fusian Delight restaurant, located in the Greenhouse Shopping Center on Lewelling in San Leandro, CA. This is our first donor restaurant and supports our efforts to provide cultural foods to our diverse client community.

Volunteer Spotlight - GLIFY

This month we focus our light on our youth volunteers from Global Leadership Initiatives for Youth (GLIFY). GLIFY is a student-driven non profit organization based in the San Francisco East Bay Area and currently has 470+ members (middle schoolers and high schoolers) around the East Bay with over 40+ projects including food banks, crayon sorting, and other enrichment classes.

GLIFY has supported the San Lorenzo Family Help Center since 2020. The first event was the Thanksgiving special event in 2020. GLIFY was referred to The Pantry by Charles Beyer from Alameda County Community Food Bank. Since then they volunteer regularly, helping those in need and learning leadership skills along the way. The group’s Saturday participation at The Pantry, is co-lead by Joshua Wu and Leann Chen.

Visit the GLIFY website to learn more about this amazing youth leadership group.

Stocking Our Shelves

Turkey Donations for Thanksgiving

We received 131 turkeys this year from Penumbra Inc of Alameda, CA. This is the 3rd year they have donated.

The warmth people feel when receiving a turkey warms the heart and fills stomachs this season.

Giving Tuesday & San Lorenzo Family Help Center

As we approach the holiday season, the San Lorenzo Family Help Center is preparing to support our community with food on their tables. One way to ensure we can continue to meet the needs of our community is through your donations for Giving Tuesday.

While the formal Giving Tuesday day is December 3rd, we hope you consider donating throughout the year and help us defeat hunger in Alameda County. Check out and share our Giving Tuesday donation page.

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

There are many ways to support the work we do at the San Lorenzo Family Help Center (SLFHC). November is a time where many people feel the gift of giving time and or donating food. When donating food please think about the condition of the packaging and the dating on the items donated and only donate foods that you would eat yourself.

Local Organizations Run Food Drives for The Pantry

We recently received food donations from:

The San Lorenzo Little League held a food drive in support of The Pantry.
The Girl Scouts troop 2612 and the Boy Scouts troop 612 recently made food donations, something they’ve been doing since at least 2020.

Calvary Lutheran Church Donates Proceeds to The Pantry

Gratitude and gratefulness goes to the Calvary Lutheran Church for donating all the proceeds from their upcoming Community Concert on November 30th, at 7 PM to The Pantry. If you are interested in attending in person, the address is 17200 Vía Magdalena, San Lorenzo, CA.

Please Donate Today and Defeat Hunger in Alameda County

We need your help to defeat hunger in the unincorporated area in and around San Lorenzo in Alameda County, CA. We cannot do it without you.

The San Lorenzo Family Help Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3). When you make your donation, we will provide the Tax ID.

We are rolling out new donor levels – Pantry Style.

Platter Donors – $5,000 +
Dinner Plate Donors – $2,000 to $4,999
Salad Plate Donors – $1,000 to $1,999
Dessert Plate Donors – $500 – $999
Hors d’oeuvres Plate Donors – $100 – $499

Giving Tuesday & The San Lorenzo Help Center

November 24, 2024

'Tis the Season for Giving Tuesday!

The Holiday Season is upon us! We are working hard to ensure our community members (clients and volunteers) have food on their tables this season.

Consider giving this season and spread joy and warmth on or around Giving Tuesday (Dec 3rd). Your financial donations support our mission and efforts to defeat hunger in Alameda County. Click here to learn more about what Giving Tuesday is all about.

The San Lorenzo Help Center - 40 Years and Counting

The San Lorenzo Family Help Center was founded in the late 1970’s as the San Lorenzo Ecumenical Food Pantry, serving approximately 10-20 families per week. Fast forward a few decades and we are now operating from our location in the Corsair Business Center in Hayward. We serve clients by appointment and at mobile pantry sites, and in October 2024 helped meet the nutritional needs of more than 850 households.

Our Mission Statement is:
“To support families in the wider San Lorenzo area by coordinating and distributing nutritious emergency food and targeted resources in partnership with volunteers, organizations, and our community.”

Our Volunteers are Our Heros

Without our dedicated volunteers, the San Lorenzo Family Help Center would not be able to operate the pantry for the benefit of our community. As you can see, our volunteers are dedicated to serving our community, have having fun at the same time!

What is Giving Tuesday?

Launched in 2012, Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement, creating a day that encourages people to do good. You can find more information at their website: https://www.givingtuesday.org/. This year, Giving Tuesday will be held on December 3.

The Pantry Shelf – Newsletter October 2024

October 18, 2024

Check out what’s on the shelves in October.

Top Shelf - Our Programs

In-Store Program

Since January 2024, we’ve supported 1165 unique families through our store-like shopping pantry at Corsair. The chart at the right shows the number of families per month who have received assistance, 322 to 723 a 124.5% in growth.

Mobile Pantry Program

What is a mobile pantry? We drive our van full of fresh produce and dry goods to locations where people need nutritious food the most in the underserved locations within the Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres and San Lorenzo communities.

So far this year we’ve driven our mobile pantry to the San Lorenzo Emanuelu Samoan Free Methodist Church partnering with them to distribute nutritious produce to approximately 100 clients on five Saturdays.

We are looking for mobile pantry partners and locations

If you are interested in a partnership and hosting us and our mobile pantry program, please email at slzfoodbank@gmail.com.

We are expanding our Mobile Pantry Program and need dough

It has been a dream of ours to have a farmer’s market truck specifically designed to support our mobile pantry work. The truck design includes features like display shelving which helps reduce the lifting of hundreds of pounds of produce by our volunteers, built-in refrigeration enabling the storage of temperature sensitive foods, as well as awnings that provide coverings to our clients.

We are excited to share that we’ve received a $205,000 Alameda County Unincorporated Area Community Development Block Grant. This grant is foundational to the expansion of our mobile food pantry program and the purchase of a new farmer’s market truck.

We have a $30,000 match that ends Oct 31st. Give today! The match may end, but the need for food for families will go on.

But the grant is not enough to build the farmer’s market truck and get it on the streets in the community. We are still needing $60,000 to complete the purchase.

Middle Shelf - Partners & Volunteers

Food Recovery Partners

In October 2024, we added our 15th food recovery partner. Our partnerships with grocery stores, food distributors, and farmer’s markets provide us with a estimated 35,000 pounds per month of culturally diverse foods.

This year, we are on track to reach half a million pounds. Working together we are defeating hunger in Alameda County.

Welcome to our new food recovery partner Sprouts in Hayward, CA.

Volunteers

Our good work is powered by our amazing volunteers, who do so much in the pantry and outside of it.

Food-Related Roles

Receiving and sorting donations
Organizing and putting food on shelves or tables for distribution
Engage families in food selection

Non-Food Roles

Client check in and appointments
Photographer
Fundraising
Volunteer coordinator

If you would like to volunteer, please email: slzfoodbank@gmail.com

Volunteer Spotlight

Our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Janet Linh, a volunteer for the past 2 years. Read what Janet has to say in her own words.

I’ve been a volunteer at San Lorenzo Family Help Center for almost two years. This rewarding experience has brought me great pride and enjoyment. I get to meet many new people and have made several friends. But most importantly, I get to serve and give back to the community and to do my part to take care of it the way it took care of me and my family when we first immigrated from Vietnam.
I will always remember the kindness and generosity shown to us by our local church and community, who made us feel welcomed and helped get us settled in with furnishings for our house and clothes and food for my whole family. I was just a young child then but I still remember how grateful I felt that total strangers cared about our well-being!
I’m inspired to continue my volunteer work and to motivate others to give back so we can make our world a better, kinder place for everyone. I especially want to instill in my young daughter the sense of volunteerism and the joy and gratification it brings.

Bottom Shelf

Brrr…it’s cold inside our new walk-in refrigerator. Thanks to the recent $30,000 grant from Alameda County Source & Recycling Board through Stopwaste.org, we were able to purchase a large walk-in refrigerator. With additional funding for the installation, the walk-in is now chilling produce and foods in our warehouse. Thank you to Pelco Sales and Services, and Cold Storage Manufacturing for the installation and Moonlight Electric for connecting the electricity.

Stocking Our Shelves

We are only able to defeat hunger with your help. A $100 donation feeds 4 families for a week Donate Now! Your donations, automatically subscribes you to our newsletter.

There are many ways to support the work we do at the San Lorenzo Family Help Center (SLFHC). In addition to one-time or monthly donations please consider:

Hosting a fundraiser on our behalf – create an event and invite friends and neighbors, then donate the funds to SLFHC.
Use your company giving platform and matching program – check out to see if your company has giving program.
Leave a legacy and add us to your estate plan – When you include the San Lorenzo Family Help Center in your estate plan, your generosity ensures an impact well into the future.

Rolling Out Our New Donor Levels

We need your help to defeat hunger in the unincorporated area in and around San Lorenzo in Alameda County, CA. We cannot do it without you.

We are rolling out new donor levels – Pantry Style. Donate today, grab a plate, and help stock our shelves.

Platter Donors – $5,000 +
Dinner Plate Donors – $2,000 to $4,999
Salad Plate Donors – $1,000 to $1,999
Dessert Plate Donors – $500 – $999
Hors d’oeuvres Plate Donors – $100 – $499

The San Lorenzo Family Help Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3). When you make your donation, we will provide the Tax ID.

Contact information

Janelle Morimoto, Executive Director

Email: slzfoodbank@gmail.com

Change in seasons brings changes to shopping days and hours at the San Lorenzo Family Help Center

September 16, 2024

As we move into fall we are making two key changes to our client program: reducing from two shopping days per client family down to one, and decreasing the number of Wednesdays we are open per month.

One Shopping Day Per Month

Starting October 1, 2024, the San Lorenzo Family Help Center (SLFHC) will move to providing one shopping day per month due to the reduced food supplied from the Alameda County Community Food Bank and an increase in the number of people and families receiving support from us. We are able to provide referrals to other local organizations providing food in the local Alameda County area, for those that need additional sources of food.

During the summer months we provided clients two shopping days per month to cover additional food needed while schools were off and children were home for the summer. Now that school is back in session and school food programs are up and running, we will be reducing our client shopping down to one day per month.

Our Fall & Winter Wednesday Schedules

October – open the 9th and 23rd
November – open the 6th and 20th
December – open the 4th and 18th
January 2025 – open the 8th and 22nd

New Walk-in Refrigerator is Chilling in the San Lorenzo Family Help Center Pantry

August 29, 2024

Brrr…it’s cold inside thanks to a recent $30,000 grant we received from Alameda County Source & Recycling Board through Stopwaste.org to purchase a large walk-in refrigerator. With additional funding for installation the walk-in is now chilling produce and foods in our warehouse. Thank you to Pelco Sales and Services and Cold Storage Manufacturing for the installation and Moonlight Electric for connecting the electricity.

Defeating hunger in Alameda County takes a community of organizations and people funding and volunteering. Please consider donating to the San Lorenzo Family Help Center, in a small or big way, go to our San Lorenzo Family Help Center donation page.

This large refrigeration unit increases our cold storage capacity and enables us to expand our Food Recovery Program. Other benefits include:

Replacement of inefficient refrigeration units, saving electricity and lowering our carbon footprint; and
Increase the volume of recovered produce, dairy and protein foods, enabling us to support more low and very low-income families with additional food resources; and
Enables us to scale our mobile pantry program reaching more families and individuals needing healthy and nutritious food who live in the unincorporated Alameda County areas of Cherryland, Ashland, Hayward Acres and San Lorenzo; and
Last but not least, improve our volunteer experience by reducing the manual loading of the wall refrigeration units.

Celeste Merryman

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In-Store Program

Farmer's Market Truck Update - Mobile Pantry Program

Middle Shelf - Events & Activities

April was National Volunteer Month

Out and About at Easter Eggstravaganza

Job Resource Fair - San Lorenzo Adult School

Stocking Our Shelves

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

Around the Corner

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In-Store Program

Mobile Pantry Program

Middle Shelf - Volunteer Highlight

Stocking Our Shelves

Turn the Page, Fill a Plate Fundraiser

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

Around the Corner

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In-Store Program

Mobile Pantry Program

Updated on Our Farmer's Market Truck

Stocking Our Shelves

Turn the Page, Fill a Plate - Fundraiser

About the Auction

How It Works

Book Reveal Open House

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

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California Updates Food Labeling Starting July 1, 2026

In-Store Program

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Volunteer Spotlight - Anne Milner

Our Annual Meeting - January 26, 2025

New Board Members Elected in January 2025

Around the Corner

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In-Store Program

Mobile Pantry Program

Update on Our Farmer's Market Truck

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Food Recovery Program & Volunteers

Through our Food Recovery Program in 2024 we brought in 373,078 pounds of foods

Bike Donation from Kids Bike Lane

Stocking Our Shelves​

Giving Tuesday Donations

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

Donated Proceeds – Calvary Lutheran Church Community Concert

Food Drives Benefiting The Pantry

Youth Groups

Preschools

Grants & Funding

Around the Corner

Annual Meeting to be held January 26, 2024

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In-Store Program

Mobile Pantry Program

Update on Our Farmer's Market Truck

Middle Shelf - Partners & Volunteers

Food Recovery Partners

Volunteer Spotlight - GLIFY

Stocking Our Shelves

Turkey Donations for Thanksgiving

Giving Tuesday & San Lorenzo Family Help Center

Donating Proceeds & Food to The Pantry

Local Organizations Run Food Drives for The Pantry

Calvary Lutheran Church Donates Proceeds to The Pantry

Please Donate Today and Defeat Hunger in Alameda County

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The San Lorenzo Help Center - 40 Years and Counting

Our Volunteers are Our Heros

What is Giving Tuesday?

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In-Store Program

Mobile Pantry Program

We are looking for mobile pantry partners and locations

We are expanding our Mobile Pantry Program and need dough

We have a $30,000 match that ends Oct 31st. Give today! The match may end, but the need for food for families will go on.

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Stocking Our Shelves

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