Looking back, we could never have imagined a year ago that our announcement of a readiness campaign to prepare our clients and our nonprofit partner agencies for COVID-9 would turn into a year-long response effort. We could not have imagined the spike in joblessness; the doubling of food insecurity. We could not have imagined the change of lifestyle we would face nor the fear that would pervade so much of our life. And, we could not have imagined the devastating loss of so many family and friends. The pandemic ravaged our community, particularly those in the lowest strata of income.

The pandemic also, though, brought out the best in us. Who could have imagined tens of thousands of volunteers stepping forward as frontline heroes to make sure that no one went hungry? Who could have imagined the hundreds of thousands of individuals, businesses, organizations, and foundations that would lean in to help meet a $6 million a week spike for food and funds? Who could have imagined that this incredible community’s response would garner national and even international media attention? Who could have imagined we would be SA Strong?

This impact report is intended to give an overview of where our community gave help and received help. We often frame our work with what we need from the community (food, time, money, voice) and how we help those in need in the community (food for today, food for tomorrow, and food for a lifetime).

The pages here will give you an overview of both legs of our response for the timeframe March 2020 through February 2021. And while our response is not done, we hope this report provides you a helpful synopsis of the response effort for the region.

Click here to continue reading...