Poverty Awareness Month • New Year Edition
When One Crisis Changes Everything
Poverty doesn’t always begin with a mistake. Sometimes, it begins with love.
One of our clients became homeless after leaving her job to care for a family member who needed support. What began as an act of compassion slowly became instability. When the living situation became unsafe and hostile, she had nowhere to go. Without income, savings, or immediate housing options, she now sleeps in her car — not because she failed, but because she stepped in when someone needed her.
Her story is not rare. It is a quiet reality unfolding in our community every day.
At the San Lorenzo Family Help Center (SLFHC), we meet neighbors who never expected to need help — caregivers, seniors, working families, and individuals whose lives changed after a single crisis. Poverty Awareness Month reminds us that hardship is often one moment away, and that compassion paired with action can change outcomes.
Poverty in Alameda County: The Hidden Numbers
As of the most recent data (early 2026), the poverty rate in Alameda County depends on which metric is used. While official federal numbers remain around 9.5%, local measures that account for the high cost of living in the Bay Area suggest a much higher rate of roughly 16.3% with families, seniors, immigrants, and people with disabilities disproportionately affected. Housing and childcare costs continue to push working families into food insecurity.
Top Shelf – Our Programs
In-Store Program
Our families are top shelf! We continue to grow, defeating hunger in more and more households in the cities of San Lorenzo, Hayward, San Leandro and Castro Valley.
The need for nutritional support in our community grew substantially in 2025, as we saw an approximate 20% increase in our client base year-over-year. Our year-end data highlights this trajectory: we served 1,056 unique families in November (78 new households) and reached 1,104 families in December (67 new households). These figures underscore our expanding reach and the critical importance of our mission heading into 2026.
Middle Shelf – Community in Action
Volunteers from our community came together throughout December to ensure every family was welcomed with dignity, care, and a full grocery cart. This work is only possible because of people who show up for one another.
Bottom Shelf – A New Year, A Growing Need – And a Stronger Community
As we begin a new year, we want to thank you for standing with us as our community’s needs continue to grow. Your generous financial support makes it possible for us to respond when neighbors are facing rising costs, uncertainty, or sudden hardship.
Thanks to donors like you, in 2025 we were able to help nearly 20% more individuals and families. Our pantry provided food to about 400 first-time clients. Each number represents a household facing hardship — and because of you, they were met with dignity, nourishment, and compassion.
Our Mission
Our mission is to defeat hunger in Alameda County — and to do so in a way that centers dignity, equity, and community voice.
Food justice means ensuring that every person has reliable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate food without shame or barriers. It means meeting people where they are and strengthening community systems so no one is left behind.
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.
- Organizing food drives year-around
- 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.
Please join us—your support brings dignity, nourishment, and care to our neighbors.
Be Part of the Mission – Join the Board
We are accepting applications for new Board Members through February 4th. Board service requires approximately 5 hours per month and a desire to keep SLFHC stable, community-centered, and responsive. If you believe food is a human right and community care belongs in action, we invite you to join us.
Thank You for Walking This Path With Us
Your support — through donations, volunteer time, advocacy, and trust — makes this work possible. Together, we are turning awareness into action, and action into lasting change.
The San Lorenzo Family Help Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3), EIN # 30-0554038.
