Paul Ash: Ending Hunger in San Francisco!

Paul Ash, Executive Director of the San Francisco Food Bank, describes the Potrero Hill facility as looking like Costco. Except for the solar panels. And the fact that the food here isn’t for sale. It’s free…

by Deborah Burstyn
Staff Writer, SF Bay Area Women’s Journal

Paul Ash, Exec. Director San Francisco Food Bank

The food is delivered to over 200 food pantry sites around San Francisco to serve those living at or near the poverty line.

Ash, 55, helped develop an innovative program, Farm to Family, which partners with over 100 different growers and packers to funnel fresh and nutritious produce to those that rely on the Food Bank. This year over 20 million pounds was distributed and 60% of the food that was fresh produce.

The San Francisco Food Bank distributes more pounds per person in poverty than all other food banks in the nation!

Ash spoke with the San Francisco Bay Area Women’s Journal about his life and the job he’s held for 20 years feeding the city’s hungriest residents.

On Life Exposure – Back in Oklahoma, both sets of my grandparents had farms. They were mostly subsistence farms with a couple of cash crops, alfalfa and cotton. They worked hard. Yet through no fault of their own – weather, insects – if the crops failed, things could get bad. My grandparents got old before their time.

When I see people in line at our food pantries, I see my grandparents’ faces in their faces.

On a Typical Day – Breakfast might be followed by a visit to St. Anthony’s dining room where I interact with the clients that depend on the food provided by the Food Bank and then lunch with a CEO of a major corporation who is interested in donating. I get to see first-hand what a range of success and tragedy we have in this country.

There are many people who are so bright and working so hard. Yet because of bad luck, a few bad choices or mental illness, supporting themselves is oftentimes difficult.

I try to get out to visit one of our pantries several times a week.

On Hunger – We live in the richest agricultural state in one of the richest countries in the world. We grow enough food in this country to feed everyone. And still have plenty left to export and make profits.

Yet only 50% of people who are eligible for food stamps receive them. We make it difficult for them. We have this fear of giving people something they are not entitled to.

We prevent those who are entitled from accessing food stamps.

On Volunteering – Sundays are reserved as family days at the San Francisco Food Bank. We don’t operate the power equipment like the fork lift on Sundays which makes it a safer day for kids to be here.

We have families that come once a month to volunteer together. They make it a cornerstone for teaching values to their kids. The Food Bank is a fun and safe environment for children to learn about the importance of supporting others in need in their community.

Volunteering at the Food Bank is different than serving food in a soup kitchen. Both tasks are challenging. Many of our projects are hands on work. For example, we buy beans in 2,000 pound bags and our volunteers repackage them into one pound bags. We’re open seven days a week and some evenings for people to volunteer.

On Crisis – We opened several new food distribution sites last summer to support the increase of people turning to the food bank. We’re seeing a lot of new folks coming to the pantries. We encourage people to come sooner rather than later.

It is especially important for those in need with children. If a child misses meals it can impact their health and their learning ability.

We’ve seen a 20 percent increase in those requesting food from this time last year.

On Budget – Our budget is 80 percent donations, which requires a lot of fundraising.

On Decompressing – I like to get outdoors and be in nature. I enjoy bike riding. I like to ski with my children. And I like camping. Last summer we did a fantastic camping trip to the Grand Canyon.

On Reading – My favorite book is Men to Match My Mountains by Irving Stone. It is about the opening of the American West. Right now I am reading Down the Great Unknown about the discovery of the Grand Canyon.

Thanks Paul for taking the time to talk with the SF BAWJ and for your leadership in helping to end hunger in the San Francisco Bay Area!

To learn more about the San Francisco Food Bank, please visit their website.

Posted on 09. Feb, 2010 by SFWJ in Bay Area Spotlight

Tags: family, feature, My Time, Non-Profit, nutrition, SF Focus, volunteer

One Response to “Paul Ash: Ending Hunger in San Francisco!”

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