[ mom ] hi scooter. this is mommy. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. the vegetables are cut nice and thick... you were always good at cutting your vegetables. and it's got tender white-meat chicken... the way i always made it for you. oh, one more thing honey... those pj's you like, the ones with the feet, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. welcome to "beyond the headlines", i'm cheryl jennings. >> today we're talking about hunger in the bay area, current economic climate has made feeding our families more challenging.

the need for food banks has grown tremendously in recent years. one in six americans, it's hard to believe, does not have access to enough food and children are especially vulnerable. don sanchez showed the local impact of the crisis. >> they lined up early, before the community center opened, to get their choice of fresh food. luckily there will be plenty here today. they find they simply don't have enough money to buy food. >> despite from a year ago. >> it's similar to other areas across the city. >> to get food in their own neighborhood. if you have a child and carry 30 pounds of groceries with you, you don't want to go to a bus and go across town. >> they offer choices.

greater menu so no child goes hungry. >> a farmer's market, people can take the items they want and it's important to their dignity and, it keeps from wasting food. >> tomatoes, you can make the tacos and enchiladas. >> there are 15 million children that live in poverty in the country. they need your help. >> everybody can help by making a donation or by advocating or government priority that support feeding families. >> joining me in the studio is paul ash, the executive director of san francisco food bank. paul, you and i have been talking about hunger and food. been with the food bank for 22 years. the need is greater than ever before. >> it says something about the way societies are moving.

it's becoming an institution, not something that comes into played certain times. >> i know that we've seen the people talking about it and you have seen it firsthand. >> in the last it's increased 20%. people squeak out of the middle-class into the rank of low income folks. there are a lot of reasons for it. the net income they need food assistance. >> you have places for people can contribute? >> for perfect food. >> no glass. >> no spoilage? >> right, exactly. >> one of the things that people don't realize, get access to the food stamps to help supplement? >> in california it's called cal fresh. it's a national program. had here in california we have the lowest rate of getting people signed signed up for sigp

for the program. if they have access to the pantry, there is a good chance they can feed their family nutritious family. we have the lowest rate. people can call the referral line in some counties, it's 211. somebody can help them with the process. >> the important thing is not to be ashamed and feed your family, you need to do what you have to do? >> don't be ashamed even if the process seems difficult. >> you talk about the middle-class being squeezed, not the people that are the low undertaken people? >> there are folks, no chance they are going to get back into the work force, low income senior seniors. they are going to be needing our assistance. now, we have folks that are working. 40% that come to our food bank pantry have a working member of the household. often one or two part-time jobs

but no benefits and they are low wage jobs. >> now, this is part of their lives? >> it is. food banks have become institutionalized. they expected to go to the pantry. they pay the utility bill, they go to work ande by the pantry once a week. >> what about corporations? >> we have corporations sponsor pantries and we have people that volunteer. we had 25,000 people that volunteered last year. in the bay area it's close to 100,000 people. >> so the need continues. what can we do? >> food drive is one way. come down and volunteer and then cash, by trucks, keep them on the road and gas in the tank. we can purchase the food so people can buy it in the store. if they want the make a cash donation we can put that to good work. >> if they want to do something,

is ten dollars going to do anything? >> ten dollars can do a lot of good. every dollar, we turn into $4 worth of food. so $10 is $40 worth of food. >> so how do get kids get involved? >> we like getting kids involved. teach them what the world is about and what they need to know to be good adults so we love it when schools get involved. we love it when schools volunteer because it gives them a chance to roll up their sleeves. >> and we want everybody to participate. we thank you for being here. keep up the great work. we do have to take a break. we want to tell you about abc7's thanksgiving food drive. we invite you to make a donation to your local food bank, for ten dollars. talk about how much ten dollars and help provide a thanksgiving mill. if you buy 35 or more meals, that is $350 we will announce

your name on our 6:00 news. contact local food bank with your donation for the verizon 4g lte. erica's fastest and most reliable 4g network

in over 160 cities. verizon. built so you can rule the air. welcome back to "beyond the headlines." a new report shows more people are looking for help in getting food in santa clara and san mateo counties. with the local food banks, one in ten people, second harvest food bank in santa clara university released their index

in september and it measures the gap and ability for food assistance agencies to provide. the index is the total of 184 million missed meals in 2010. >> the economy, even though it might be getting better for many of the people that were working, these are households under $50,000 income. to many of these individuals and families have not been able to maybe get back to full-time employment. may be underemployed. >> "abc 7 news" are doing continuing work with food banks to end hunger. you can donate money on line or if you would like to drop off food, call eight hundred 870-food. >> from davis family resources center, agnes hernandes and rose padilla johnson.

thank you for being here today. rose, tell me about your group. >> we are a family resource center that provides food and clothing and medical attention and child care and counseling and housing assistance. pretty much the services that struggling families that can't make ends meet. food is most important component. they have to choose between paying their rent or putting gas in their car and putting food on the table. food is probably the highest issue, most important issue. >> so people just sign up for it or need to show up? >> people are referred or they call 211 or might be in the social system worker. churches, schools. children are hungry are go to school hungry and parents are will share information with them and they refer families to us. davis street has been around for

40 years. for the last 20 years i've been there. it's also by word of mouth.gnesf and couple of kids? >> two kids at home. >> big responsibility. it's hard and every single day to bring in food, clothing and everything else. it gets hard. >> how does davis street help you? >> it helps, instead of putting money on food i can go pay my car payment or pie insurance that i have or pay the rent. it's such a help. >> rent is expensive? >> it's very expensive. right now, i get a little less but not that much. >> not enough to feed the way you want to be? >> so it's so nice to go to a place that provision help.

there are other resources as well but it's such a big help. >> good moral support, too. >> and help the kids and provide them with things. you can't go without, at least for me i can't have them go out. >> is this typical? >> she is the new face. people that have a sense, people are down and out on the streets. more and more are particularly in the bay area, families who were income earners and had their hours cut, they were working two or three jobs, it's the middle-class that is feeling the economy and effects. economy. agnes is a good example that was working last year for all of her life. now is the need. so our services will help her

stabilize and she'll be on her feet and someone else will help her. >> i hope so. >> what do you do? >> at work they really want me back. but the funding is not there. they are hoping to get me back. >> i admire for you having the courage for people to get help. it's hard but i have to look out for my children. my children are my number one priority and i can't help them go go without. >>. >> so if you are in need, don't be ashamed. we've all been there. it's okay. pick up your phone, dial 211, reach out to your teacher or your school, your church and get

more food if the pantry. we invite people in need to come to us and people also to volunteer and participate. >> thank you both for being here today. >> we do have to take a break. we are going to come back with more information on how you can help, you can dial 211 to get help to find the nearest food pantry. dinner'seady.

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welcome back. i'm cheryl jennings. a ninth grade boy is on a mission to end the hunger crisis in the south bay. they created the nonprofit waste no food projects to help people pass on excess food to the hungry. they collected food in places like los gatos. they created the nonprofit ten

years ago and whole idea is to make a difference. >> one-third of all food in california is wasted. yet, at the same time, 11 million people in california are food insecure. they do not know where necessity will get their next meal. >> waste no food works closely with other nonprofits. joining me in the studio other people that making a difference, high school sophomore, james clifford and scout master mark christiansen from piedmont council of boy scouts of america. i was so proud of watching the boy scouts and all of our scouting services doing community work. you have scouting for food, please tell us what it is. >> it's an initiative that is nationally. it started about 23 years ago. on that very first drive, across

the nation, boy scouts collected 60 million pounds of food to donate to food banks. here in the bay area, we're focused on boys everywhere from first grade to seniors in high school, going around to their neighborhoods, collecting food to give back to those in need in the same neighborhoods. >> and there are a number of items, but i wanted to tell the kind of food you want people to donate? >> it is called a canned food drive. what we're looking for non-perishables, healthy food, not soda cans or that type of canned food drive. good, healthy food. >> beans and rice and organic food? >> yeah. >> it's very important? >> yes.

>> one thing i know you like this for so many reasons, leadership skills. >> it's a great opportunity to gain leadership skills and cooperate with other members in your community and in your troop. it's also a great way to give back to those in the communities. >> absolutely. >> so it gains leadership skills. it's a great way. >> to make a difference? >> yeah. >> you've got some things here? >> these are the papers that cub scouts go around a week or two before the boy scouts come and pick them up. >> what do you do with them? >> you hang them on the door hanger and it let's people what we are looking for. >> here in the bay area, this is focused on november 14th, older

boys like james will go out and pick up canned goods and pasta and dried goods. we like to have people have it at their doorstep by 9:00 a.m. but don't worry about it if it's not picked up by 3:00 p.m. because the boys are out there to collect the donations. >> and it's important, it's not expired. >> it's not about dented cans or things the family didn't want. but truly donating things we can put together quickly. >> sure, there are barrels you see sometimes in certain neighborhoods or at the police department and fire stations. also, you can pull up your local search engine and do a search for cities, and state of boy

scouts of america, it will put you in contact. we have a virtual food drive available. if you go to our local council, piedmont council, right on the front page there is ability for people to donate money so the food banks can put to good use. you heard earlier how the food banks were able to turn that four and five times as much money. >> and the date again? >> november 19th. >> good luck. everybody can contribute to this? >> yes. >> and if you are struggling to put food on the table, dial 211, it's that easy and ask for your neighborhood food pantry. right after the break,

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welcome back to "beyond the headlines", i'm cheryl jennings. an east bay woman recently sold some of her prized possessions

to help people in need. she is 80 years old. the handover a $10,000 check. she got the money by selling thou fabric for making clothes. it's going help families put food on the table. >> it's hard for a lot of people. families are out of work. >> nancy has always been a giver. she has been one of the most generous people i've ever known and one of the most loving people i've ever known. >> the amd food bank is going to use that $10,000 to purchase about $70,000 of food which is close to the retail value of the fabric. in the studio is arletta jorgensen, and michelle berg with second harvest food bank of san mateo county. thank you both for being here.

michelle, talk to you first, people in silicon valley and san mateo, think it's just that. >> the numbers speak for themselves. they are feeding one in every ten people. families like arletta's, getting basic things getting healthy food so it's essential to make sure nobody goes hungry. >> has been a change? >> it's 50% of people. of all backgrounds, people have long work history but they just need a little bit of assistance during this difficult time. >> arletta you had a job and but you were affected? >> i lost the job three years ago. it was the recession. i have two kids.

nine and six and i raised a 17-year-old for about two years now. >> so you have a big household? >> yes. >> you got laid off and you had to do whatever you had to do to support everybody? >> i tried looking for work two months after being laid off and couldn't find nothing so i died decided to go back to school, expand my knowledge. learn the medical field. >> and how did you find the food pantry? >> i've known of it since i was little girl but i was working. so it was one of those went back to it. called 211 and they told me about second harvest and the programs you can go and get referred to and get help with. so you really had to make that decision to do that. >> how about you? >> for me, i'm getting food to

the kids. i'm providing a healthy balanced meal to them. when i'm at school, i am lucky because i can get lunch there but when they come home they need snacks and dinner. >> michelle, i know how important is it to donate? >> it's so important. because the families, hundred organizations that the food banks are working with like milpitas food pan friday. whether it's food or your time or whether it's money, it gets dispersed a large network of organizations so people have food and nobody has to go hungry. >> you have done a lot of preparation. >> so we encourage, you have a small business or a large company, get involved. there are ways to do a food drive to have a sponsorship to

be able to help families like arletta's. >> and how does it go for long-term success? >> it's essential. you are talking about two young kids. if you can imagine, trying to grow up and having not such basic items as healthy food, it's essential for them to be able to learn and grow. >> food is more than just feeding an empty at this stomach. thank you so much for being here. good look for finding a job. thank you so much. we are out of time. special thanks to all of our guests today. remember 211 can help you find a nearby food pantry. you can find information about our guests on our website and look at facebook. i'm cherylylylnings. thanks for joining us.

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