Nourishing Our Communities

Dear Friends,

Outdoor dining in Alameda County restaurants are once again open for business. Meals are both important for sustenance and for building healthy relationships, so we have refinished the picnic tables at the Swan’s Market Courtyard– please come by!

As we enjoy the resumption of outside dining, it is important to remember that there are still many in our communities who are having trouble with daily sustenance – and some of whom are the same people supplying, cooking and serving your food. Even as some businesses open up, restrictions are in place to prevent opening up at pre-COVID levels. As a result, for our low-income communities, many of whom are hourly workers, even if they are able to get their jobs back, they may be underemployed. With loss of income, the ability to put food on their own tables is impacted. For many of our residents’ children, the meals they receive in school were their main meals for the day. For seniors who are more susceptible to catching COVID-19, the fear of exposure in public places keeps them from heading to food markets. 

Indeed, the opening last summer of Community Foods Market, the first full-scale supermarket in West Oakland, has been essential for neighborhood residents. Since March, Community Foods Market has played an even more important role as neighborhood hub as they offered deeper discounts for EBT card holders, stocked up on essential products (like toilet paper), encouraged people to fill out their Census, and partnered with community organizations to provide grocery deliveries for those who were not able to leave their homes. EBALDC and the San Pablo Area Revitalization Collaborative (SPARC) and many other community partners are proud to have supported the creation of this new community institution.

Since April, EBALDC has partnered with numerous public and private entities to address food insecurity at our buildings and surrounding communities. Several of our buildings have partnered with the Alameda County Food Bank, the Contra Costa Food Bank, Mercy Brown Bag, Spectrum Community Services, the Oakland Sherriff’s Department and the Oakland Police Department to distribute food.  In addition, numerous church groups and local restaurants have donated meals and groceries.

In May, we implemented Summer Lunch programming for children and youth through the City of Oakland at Lion Creek Crossings in East Oakland with the West Contra Costa Unified School District at Giant Road Apartments in Richmond.

In June, we launched a major partnership with World Central Kitchen (WCK) on multiple fronts:

• On a weekly basis, our resident services team distribute almost 1600 prepared meals at 24 EBALDC housing developments;
• Several of EBALDC’s restaurant tenants are preparing these meals in WCK’s Oakland program, and getting much needed revenue during this time; and
• As a sponsor of the Chinatown Improvement Initiative, we have helped launch a partnership with WCK and  Good Good Eatz to provide 4,000 free meals a week to hundreds of Chinatown residents, including those at our housing sites, who line up as early as 6:30am to secure a free meal. 

I am most heartened by the work of one of our Resident Leaders at Frank G Mar, Apartments, Nu Huynh.  She took it upon herself to reach out to a friend in the restaurant industry to provide free meals to some of her fellow residents, most of whom are seniors – a true testament to our Healthy Communities vision!

Indeed, the need for food is great. When we first started in April, we provided nearly 2,300 meals or grocery deliveries. That number has now grown to nearly 8,500 deliveries, which does not include what Good Good Eatz distributes on a weekly basis.

And with the increased demand, we have a great need for volunteers to help with food distribution at our properties. With additional help, we would be able to increase the amount of groceries offered at our buildings. If you can volunteer, please contact us at volunteer@ebaldc.org. Join us!

In community,

Joshua Simon, CEO