BFN & Community Kitchens Partner to Deliver 16,800 Prepared Meals to Local Seniors
BERKELEY, Calif. — Alameda County District 5 Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas and Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii joined Berkeley Food Network (BFN) and Community Kitchens on Wednesday to celebrate a partnership delivering 16,800 prepared meals to local seniors through June 2027. After brief remarks, the two officials joined BFN staff and volunteers to pack grocery boxes for BFN’s Home Delivery Program.
Under the partnership, Oakland-based Community Kitchens prepares and packages an average of 1,100 nutritious, culturally responsive meals each month. BFN distributes them biweekly through its senior housing neighborhood pantries at Strawberry Creek Lodge, Oregon Park Apartments, Harriet Tubman Terrace and Redwood Gardens, and to seniors visiting the South Berkeley Senior Center. The program reaches more than 150 seniors who face barriers to regularly accessing or preparing food.
“Food access has to mean more than simply making food available,” said Andrew Crispin, Executive Director of Berkeley Food Network. “For some, it’s coming to our pantry and shopping for groceries. For someone who’s homebound, it may mean groceries delivered directly to their doorstep. And for an older adult who has difficulty cooking, a prepared meal can provide something groceries alone cannot.”
The partnership is part of the Alameda County Social Services Agency’s Emergency Prepared Meals Distribution program. It is funded through $1.7 million from the County’s Measure W Essential Services Fund, allocated to the Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County to support food for older adults. That allocation is part of $50.3 million in essential services funds that community organizations and the Board of Supervisors secured together for the local food system over three years.
“We are up against tremendous funding cuts, as well as harmful CalFresh policies coming down from our federal government,” said Supervisor Fortunato Bas. “Targeted collaborations just like this are how we demonstrate that, in spite of our funding challenges, we are in this together. We’re not going to give up on the people in our community who need our services the most.”
Mayor Ishii, who spoke about her own experience with food insecurity, stressed that the need extends well beyond the holiday season.
“As someone who has experienced food insecurity, I strongly believe that no one in Berkeley should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from,” she said. “Folks always think [Thanksgiving is] the only time people experience food insecurity, but in fact, it’s all year round. The city proclaimed September Hunger Action Month, and I want that attention to carry well past September.”
For some recipients, prepared meals preserve independence. One family member described a sister with visual and hearing impairments who relies on an aide to cook the groceries she receives from BFN.
Community Kitchens Executive Director Dr. Jaynemarie Enyonam Angbah, EdD, said seniors make up more than 30% of the people the organization serves, and more than 87% say they would not have a meal that day without its distribution.
The partnership comes as BFN serves more community members than ever. Last year, BFN distributed more than 2.6 million pounds of food, and it now supports approximately 6,500 community members each week. Its Home Delivery Program, launched in 2022 with about 20 homebound seniors, doubled in the past year and now serves more than 200 households whose members cannot access BFN pantries or have someone shop on their behalf.
“Altogether, [this partnership provides] 16,800 meals,” said Mayor Ishii. “And look at what home delivery has become. That really tells you how much need is out there, and that need is growing.”
