♪ today we are talking about the continuing fight against hunger in our community. this is an astonishing number. one in six people living in the bay area are not sure where they will be getting their next meal. amazing. amazing.

it's not right. this is the 22nd year that abc 7 has teamed up with bay area food banks to help feed more than 600,000 people they serve every month. our give where you live food drive has been in full force ever since thanksgiving day. there's still time for you to pitch in and help. all you have to do is text the word "feed" to 80077 to make a $10 donation. and we're chipping in an extra body to feeding needy america food banks. we will net up to $75,000 and your good deed could be rewarded. you could enter to win $7,000 cash. the winner will be announced december 19th. so grab your phone or get online while you watch our show and pledge to give where you live to fight hunger. it's easy and it makes a big difference. more than 49,000 people, almost half of them children, in

alameda county, rely on community food banks every single way. 300 community organizations help them distribute this much needed food to local residents. >> every dollar that's donated we can turn into $4 worth of food because we buy-in such massive quantities. >> a special tour for a special client at the warehouse in oakland. the first stop for nearly 27 million pounds of food donated or purchased each year for the nearly 49,000 alameda county residents it feeds each week. >> i need the food bank to help with the fresh fruits that i cannot purchase, the srepbveget i cannot purchase. >> 62-year-old loise says her disability checks are not enough to feed her 12 grandkids, two greatgrandchildren and foster

daughter. >> i would be out of food. i have gone without food. >> four years ago she asked the food bank for help. >> i go to the different churches and pantry areas and i pick up the fresh fruits and vegetables. and sometimes they have other things. eggs and grits. that helps me to feed my family. >> this bank districts food through 275 community organizations like churches, senior centers, and designated pantries across alameda county. >> i am grateful. i appreciate them opening up to the community and letting us go into different stages. >> made possible by the people who donate money, footed, and time each year. >> it's really good to give because you never know when you may be in that person's shoes. you never know when you're going to wake up and be impacted by the loss of a job or loss of home. >> i am so thankful that god put

a place like food bank in my life. so many people thankful. >> well, here is a long-time friend of abc 7. you can tell how big an impact your support has. the executive director of the food bank. thank you for being here. >> that you know, cheryl. pleasure being here. >> we had time in the break talking about how important the program is. the power of $1. >> a dollar allows us to get $3 of food out in the community. it max a big difference. we're able to stretch people's dollars to get food out to hungry people in our community. >> you told me you've been in this business for 37 years. you have seen all the changes then. >> yeah. when i started out i was the driver of a small organization with two employees. we have grown into 62 employees. we own a 30,000 square foot

warehouse. i'm not allowed to drive our vehicles anymore. it's a safety thing. but we are providing 18 million pounds of food each year. >> how about this time of year? is it worse than ever? >> people want to help others even more so. yet the demand is up significantly. we're serving 149,000 people each month. these are the two most affluent counties in the state of california. people aren't able to make ends meet in our community with the money they earn. >> and i think there's a misconception that everybody who relies on the food bank just does it forever and ever. >> not at all. it's great. it's like a food stamp program. people are on it for a mixed period of time. maybe nine months. something like that. and then never again. it's for people who are having difficult times. we're there for people who have emergencies, crises they have to deal with. food may just be enough to get them through the difficult time. >> you talked about some big

numbers. >> 149,000 people each month. now, that's senior citizens, low-income kids, people who are just in difficult circumstances. so it's a broad section of the community. it's interesting, one of the other things we found through sur is have as is of the families we served half have is a working individual in the family. they are just having a tough time getting by. >> you talk about minute muscle wage. and i think our notion was that was an entry-level job. but because the economy is so tough. >> people have lost their jobs. people who left the state are having to work at a fast food outlet or convenience store. a family of three earning minimum wage is earning under the poverty level. those are the people who are coming to us. >> we have heard talk about fresh food. >> yes. >> fresh fruits and vegetables.

>> talking about change over the years, that's the most significant one. we are getting a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, the state wide association. of the 18 million pounds of food we distributed last year, 8 million were fresh fruits and vegetables. and that's been great. we have been able to build distribution programs to get it to senior citizens. we have a produce program that has a beverage truck. it's a mobile farmers market where people can get fresh fruits and vegetables. >> in the last 15 seconds, what's most important that you want people to know. >> people can make a difference. by stepping forward, give us volunteer time or texting us and giving us the money, they will make the difference in the lives of people in our community. that's important for all of us to do. >> larry, great to have you here. >> thanks, cheryl. my pleasure. >> we have to take a short break. don't forget larry said text "feed" to 80077 to make a $10

donation. it's that easy to the give where you live food drive. and abc 7 facebook page and pledge to help. your good deeds could be rewarded with $7,000 cash. take a few minutes to give where you live. we'll be right back. one of our oldest programs of the food bank. what we do basically is weekly we have food that comes from our warehouse where local seniors who are lower income actually preregister and actually count on a weekly bag of fresh produce, other food items. >> so we're talking a big bag? >> big bag. 20 pounds. our truck goes out in the community. that's when the magic really happens. so community volunteers help bag

like artists and bag the food, distribute it. as they get it into the hands of seniors that might be home bound, they also do ome delivery. so we are very, very proud of our brown bag program. it's a self-help of the clients actually engaging in that distribution. so it's quite wonderful. none of our sites are alike. it's an exciting program of a food bank. >> i see artists smiling and nodding. >> because i get to meet all the clients that come and hand the bags to them. that's my favorite. it's an international beauty. i just can't belive how many different nationals we're serving. and the thing i have seen increase in the last six months are men. more men are coming because of the economics of being put out of jobs.

at this stage which i am, it's hard for those people who have been let go of jobs they have been in 20, 30 years. all of a sudden, they're out of work. and so they need groceries. >> and i'm glad you're there to help them too. about 30 seconds left. you have other programs at second harvest. >> we have a wide range of programs working with families, such as the families that are on our barrel for the holiday food and fun drive. we offer food year-round. right now we're in one of our biggest fund-raising times. we need to raise half our annual revenue over the holiday seasons. we have a goal of $13.2 million to raise during this holiday season. >> we hope our station can help. thank you both for approximate being here and for what you're doing. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, cheryl. >> all right. and we have to take another short break. remember, take a moment to help these beautiful ladies. text the word "feed" to 80077 to make a $10 donation to combat

hunger in the bay area. and go to abc 7 news facebook page and take the pledge to give where you live. everybody who takes the pledge will be entered to win $7,000 cash. so spread the love and help us give where you live. we'll be right back. we all have our little tricks. mom swaps one of my snacks for a yoplait. i don't mind, i mean it's orange crème. and when mom said bobby was too edgy... 'sup girl. i just swapped him out for tyler. 'sup girl. mom never questioned bobby again. two can play at this game. [ female announcer ] swap one snack a week for a yoplait. and everybody wins. yoplait. it is so good. [chris]still smoking up a storm? [tom]yeah.pathetic,isn't it? [chris] ever try to... [tom] quit?of course! my best time was six days. the worst was ...uh...23.4 seconds. [chris] so can i ask you... [chris & tom] why are you still smoking? [tom] [sarcastic] "it's so much fun."

[chris]why not call the smokers' helpline? the program's free,and... [tom]and they'll tell me..."you oughta quit." [chris] not so. just tell them you're ready to quit. then,they'll tell you how. [tom] really? you wouldn't have that number on you,would you? welcome back. i'm cheryl jennings. inspired by our continuing to give where you live food drive, we will continue our discussion about one of our most vulnerable

communities. specifically, we're talking about seniors. joining me to talk about this is san francisco meals-on-wheels, one of my favorite organizations. >> thank you for having us. >> so good to have you here. meals-on-wheels does amazing things. i have had an opportunity to go follow the drivers to see how they meet the seniors. for folks who don't know about this, let's start with you. how does meals-on-wheels work? >> we bring food to homebound seniors in san francisco is, age 60 and older. they're an isolated hidden population. we also bring home delivered groceries to some higher functioning seniors. we serve a portion of the younger adults with disabilities that are home bound. and also transitional care

program for people being released from the hospital that need help for a short period of time. >> so it's wide-ranging. rick, you're a dedicated volunteer. so why is the wheels part so important? >> my job is to visit home bound people and to get them outside. so i get them outside. i take them for a walk. i take them to the doctor, grocery shopping. whatever they need done. other times they will call me to put together furniture they might have bought through mail order. so i will put that together f >> oh, my them. >> oh, my goodness. you are dedicated. so you develop a real bond with your clients. >> yes. >> do you have a little story you would like to share? >> well, i have one. she's 97 years old. six years ago we met. she got mugged. she was afraid to go outside. we became friends. i started taking her outside. she got married when she was #

24 years old. she moved across the street with her husband and had lived there ever since. her husband died years so she's alone. >> so you're there for her? >> yeah. >> bless your heart. christy, tell me about folks like this. you know, they have emotional needs. they have nutritional needs. so how do you dress that? >> well, volunteers are a big part of the service we provide. because isolation is the main problem. these people will go for months at a time and their only contact with another person is the meals-on-wheels driver and volunteer. they will go for a month at a time when the only physical contact is with a medical professional. it's hard to imagine the isolation they have. there is the problem of affording food. there's a problem getting to the stores, carrying the food home and being able to prepare the food. >> i've been to the meals-on-wheels kitchen. it is massive. can you describe it for folks.

>> wow. we're very lucky because we have our office, our kitchen. everything is contained in one building. so there's a lot of quality control. yeah. they are the a well-oiled machine. and they prepare food for 2,200 seniors every week. >> and i check the nutritional calorie count. >> there's very strict guidelines that our nutritionists have to follow. even within they have quite a varied menu. a lot of options. >> is this free? >> it is. there's not a fee-for-service component. our seniors try to contribute whatever they can. so we have a lot of seniors that try to send a dollar or two dollars in the mail every month just to try to help us keep going. >> as we have learned, a dollar goes a long way. >> it certainly does. >> rick, have you seen your clients improve mentally and physically? >> mentally, i have.

physically, of course over the last years or so, they're going down. but they're always happy to see me. >> how can people get involved with meals-on-wheels? >> there's so many ways. we love volunteers. there's volunteering for events like thanksgiving and christmas. and volunteers like rick who are ongoing with the seniors. and we also welcome donations for sure. the holiday season is is a time where we try to raise a lot of money. we have a campaign going right now. >> okay. and hopefully we will see each other at the gala next year. >> love that. >> always a way to contribute. >> yes. absolutely. >> good luck with everything and thank you for what you're both doing. >> thank you. >> again, we have to take a break. coming up, abc 7 is teaming up with our local feeding america food bank. text "feed" to 80077 to make a $10 donation to combat hunger i the bay area.

with every pledge we will donate one dollar in your honor, up to $75,000. everybody who takes the pledge will be entered to win $7,000 cash. stay with us. we'll be right back.

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welcome back. i'm cheryl jennings. as part of our give where you live food drive, we're talking about ways to address the food areas of the bay area community. here with me now is chris jenson with collective roots. so i know it's been around for a while. but for folks at home who don't know, tell us about it. >> it is a small nonprofit. as you said, based in palo alto. our focus is food security. we want to make sure people have access to fresh food. we help people grow their own food in gardens. we run a farmers market in town. we're in seven different schools, teaching kids about

health and nutrition using a garden as a tool. >> so you're all over the place. >> we're in multiple sites throughout east palo alto. >> wow. that's exciting. >> yeah. >> especially when you start with the younger kids. then they get that in their head. a lot of us didn't grow up knowing about good nutrition. >> absolutely. >> how do people get involved? >> any number of ways. as i mentioned we start in schools. we teach kids in those schools. but we teach their parents health and nutrition classes and hands-on cooking classes. in addition, we help folks grow their own food in their yards. whether it's seed, tools or installing a garden. we have a seed library at the public library where people can check out seed to grow their own food. >> fantastic. can anybody get involved? >> anybody can get involved, certainly. >> do you have a range of people from kids to seniors who might call you? >> absolutely. we work in the schools with

kids. all ages. parents work in our gardening program. we have our farmers market in town, the only farmers market in east palo alto. >> and i think it seems like it's common sense. just for folks who don't understand the importance of affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. >> unfortunately many of our communities don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. there might be a corner market to get canned foods or chips and soda. for 30 years they didn't have a grocery store. they have one now. and our farmers market is actually -- we created it to have a source of produce in town for all those years when they didn't. >> that's wonderful. you have something called fresh checks. >> it's a great program. at our farmers market if somebody is using cal fresh, which is food stamps, or w.i.c., they can come and get purchases

matched at the farmers market. so they're spending $5 on food stamps. they can get an additional $5 free of charge to double their purchase of fresh produce at the market. >> i have some friends i want to get signed up for that. so what is the process to get involved? online? >> no. you just show up to the market and show proof of income, whether it's food stamps for the w.i.c. program. and we just sign you up. we have a computer tracking system to make sure people get access to the program. but it's a really wonderful program. >> only in beast palo alto? >> as far as i know ours is the only one that matches food stamps, w.i.c. and other programs. most do only food stamps. >> you are a model for the country. thank you so much. it was really nice to meet you. >> it was a pleasure meeting you as well, cheryl. >> all right. we want you to help us feed the bay area this holiday season. go to abc 7 facebook page. with every pledge we will day nate one dollar in your honor to

the feeding america food banks, up to $75,000. your good deed will be rewarded. everyone who takes the pledge will be eligible to win $7,000 cash. spread the love and help us give food where you live. that's all the time we have for today. my thanks to all of our wonderful guests and to all of you for your generosity. we want you to join is our team. for more information about today's program go to abc7news.com/community. i'm cheryl jennings. have a great week. we'll see you next time. good morning nelly! woah. hey! have you ever tried honey nut cheerios? love 'em. neat! now you on the other hand... you need some help. why? look atchya. what is that? you mean my honey wand? [ shouting ] [ splat ] come on. matter of fact. [ rustling ] shirt. shoes. shades. ah! wow! now that voice... my voice? [ auto-tuned ] what's wrong with my voice?

yeah man, bee got swag! be happy! be healthy! that's gotta go too. ♪ hey! must be the honey! [ sparkle ] sweet.

>> the holiday season is upon us so let's bring in some holiday cheer. hello, i'm spencer christian. welcome to pier 39! . it's time to make the magic come alive! >> abc 7 news presents the pier 39 tree lighting celebration. >> good evening, everyone. hello, welcome to pier 389. it's great to have you here this evening as we kick off the holiday season. very special celebration here, the annual pier 39 tree lighting

celebration. look at the 60 foot tree behind me. we're going