The SLO Food Bank has been a driving force in alleviating hunger in San Luis Obispo County for over 30 years. Through their continuous dedication and innovative approaches, they have transformed their efforts to address the pressing issue of food insecurity. In this blog, we will explore how the SLO Food Bank has evolved its initiatives to alleviate hunger.
Humble Beginnings
When the SLO Food Bank opened on Valentine’s Day in 1989, it consisted of a 4,000 square-foot warehouse space in Paso Robles with a Knudsen ice cream truck in the back acting as its only cold storage and a second truck to use for deliveries. By the end of that year, the organization was serving 7,000 households per quarter at 17 food distribution sites throughout the county. Besides having an executive director, office, and warehouse manager, the organization was nearly 100% volunteer-run.
Newspaper article from 1989.
Expansion and Increased Impact
Today, decades later, we operate out of a new, centrally-located 20,000-square-foot facility in San Luis Obispo, 15% of which is refrigerator and freezer space. We provide specific programs, like Summer Breakfast Bags for children and farmers’ markets for seniors, which are tailored to serve our county’s most vulnerable populations. Our gleaning program harvests hundreds of thousands of pounds of produce from local growers each year. Our operation relies on a paid staff of 30, a fleet of a dozen vehicles, and the help of over thousands of volunteers to increase food security for individuals and families in San Luis Obispo County.
Newspaper article from 1990.
A Community Effort
The SLO Food Bank started from humble beginnings but was fueled by a strong belief: that no one in our county should go hungry. While the people involved, scale, and location of the SLO Food Bank has changed over time that original vision has remained constant. Over more than three decades, every time our leaders secured funding, every time a volunteer handed a bag of food to someone at a distribution, and every time a church group organized a food drive they were getting closer to realizing that vision.
These combined efforts over time have resulted in a powerful infrastructure and network that is available for all SLO County residents in times of need, both today and into the future.
As we look back over our history of serving our community, the current team at the SLO Food Bank wants to thank those who have contributed to the organization and its efforts in the community.
– By Andrea Keisler, Director of Programs
