Our Vision - Fighting Hunger & Feeding Hope

It is our vision to eliminate hunger within the communities we serve!

Second Harvest Food Bank of San Joaquin & Stanislaus Counties is committed to fighting hunger by providing and distributing food to those in need and feeding hope by recognizing the diversity of those we serve and treating each individual with dignity and respect.

Our Mission Statement

Hunger Hurts! It denies dignity, lessens human energy, erodes community stability and impairs the potential of people and societies to succeed. Second Harvest Food Bank provides an efficient, cost effective centralized system for collecting and distributing food that reduces waste and alleviates hunger in San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties. Through our community partners we provide hope and deliver life-sustaining meals to those in need to silence the pain that hunger brings.

Our Fight Against Hunger

Second Harvest Food Bank helps over 35,000 individuals in need each month throughout San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties. We accomplish this through our three programs; Food Assistance, Food 4 Thought, and Senior Brown Bag. We partner with over 200 non-profit agencies, various community centers and many schools to help us distribute out approximately 1 million pounds of food each month. Second Harvest Food Bank acquires and stores donated and purchased food and effectively organizes and delivers it to our partner agencies and program sites, where it is then prepared and distributed out to those in need.

Second Harvest Food Bank is committed to not just providing food, but to providing nutrition and true sustenance to the hungry. We strive to provide fresh produce, important staples, and protein to the individuals we serve through our programs. We believe that focusing on nutrition is a vital piece in the fight against hunger and to alleviating the pain that it brings.

Second Harvest Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization.

Our History

Second Harvest Food Bank began as Good Samaritan Community Services in 1976 through a grant and contract with the County to administer the State Brown Bag and Title III-B programs for low income senior citizens in San Joaquin County. In time Good Samaritan began to collect more food than needed to supply this program and began to provide supplemental groceries to other non-profit charities with food operations of their own.

In May of 1995, the Food Bank joined a national coalition of food banks known then as America's Second Harvest, now known as Feeding America. Joining with this national coalition provided the opportunity to receive donations on a large corporate level and opened the door for growth and expansion. In September of 1996 the Food Bank completed its separation from Good Samaritan and established its own non-profit entity and began doing business as the San Joaquin Food Bank.

Another big step was taken in 2001 when San Joaquin Food Bank merged with the Modesto-Riverbank-Stanislaus County Food Bank to form Second Harvest Food Bank of San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties. The merging of these two entities allowed for a more effective and increased distribution of food to those in need in 7 counties, including San Joaquin, Stanislaus and the Mother Lode.

Today Second Harvest Food Bank continues on its mission of fighting hunger by distributing over 12 million pounds of food to over 400,000 individuals by sustaining and growing its vital programs.

For more information call 209-239-2091 or email us.