North Beach Citizens’ Food Pantry Provides a Warm Meal and Hope to Homeless and Extremely Low-Income Members of our Community.

One of our case management staff bonds with our client, Robin, at our Wednesday food pantry day. This past year Robin obtained permanent, affordable housing with the help of our advocacy.

At North Beach Citizens, our focus is finding lasting solutions to homelessness for our clients. Many times, this process begins through our offering meals through our food program.

 Every week our food pantry provides nourishment that many have lacked while living on the street. But more importantly, our pantry builds the trust between clients and staff that empowers them to create stability in their lives.

 Monday through Friday, our food pantry provides a touch point for our homeless and low-income clients to receive nutritious food, clothes, and essential hygiene products. On Wednesdays, our partners at SF Marin Food Bank bring us over one ton of groceries that our volunteers transform into over one hundred individual grocery bags. While our daily lunches provide critical nutrition to our homeless clients, our grocery program meets the needs of our North Beach and Chinatown’s low-income community who have kitchens and cook for their families. 

Our volunteer James bringing food from SF-Marin Food Bank. The produce he brings will be turned into individual meals that will feed hundreds of homeless and low-income clients.

Serving over seven hundred clients a year through our food pantry program is no small task. Luckily, we have an incredible team of staff, volunteers and community partners that allow us to provide food in an environment of trust, integrity, and respect. Our food pantry coordinator, Casey, knows every client by name and her kindness makes our clients feel safe and supported as they receive our services. One of our volunteers, James, is an essential member of our team as he drives to SF Marin Food Bank throughout the week and picks up nutritious items that we are then able to provide to our homeless clients with our daily lunches. Food Runners, a community partner, brings us prepared meals donated by local restaurants and caterers that we are able to give out to a population that enjoys receiving fresh food.

 What makes North Beach an important resource for our clients is not just nutritional support – it’s the sense of community that we create with it. There are so many small gestures of kindness from around the neighborhood that make such an impact. Bob’s Donuts sends someone every Wednesday to bring fresh donuts to our clients as they wait in line. James, our incredible volunteer, brings home baked goods that his daughter spends hours every week baking for the communities we serve. During the holidays we organize volunteer events to ensure that North Beach and Chinatown’s homeless and low-income individuals get to participate in the holidays through themed-meals and gift bags.

 So many people trust North Beach Citizens as a place they know they can always get a meal. Knowing where the next meal comes from provides a sense of stability that empowers the people we serve to start navigating lasting solutions to the problems they face. Food serves as the gateway for people to open up and put their trust in us, and seek transformational help – beyond their next meal.