Why is one of the Bay Area’s ‘richest counties’ receiving $2M to address food insecurity?

( KRON ) – San Mateo County, ranked as the fifth “richest” county nationwide by U.S. News and World, granted $2,000,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank over the summer to address food insecurity, and it’s not the first time.

One would naturally think high earners have no need to visit a food pantry, but with the feds considering a family of four earning $156,650 in San Mateo Co. “low income” in 2024 , the county says more and more residents are showing up for basic produce.

Tracy Weatherby, vice president of strategy and advocacy of Second Harvest, says the grant is largely based on the increasing cost of living. “Inflation has been very, very hard on our communities,” Weatherby said. “What we are seeing now in terms of need is every bit as big as it was during the pandemic.”

The price of groceries has increased 30% since the pandemic in the Bay Area, according to the U.S.  Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fuel and utility costs rose by nearly 50 % regionally during the same period.

A survey conducted by Second Harvest says that more than half of San Mateo County residents attending their food programs have less than $100 in savings, with almost 65% being worried about their paying rent or mortgage in the next upcoming month.

In August, the Board of Supervisors granted Measure K , a $2M grant given to Second Harvest of Silicon Value. The grant aims to provide an estimated 4 million meals by July 2025, feeding an average of 129,000 people monthly.

Jakob Kapisi, a San Mateo County Resident, told the county he bought a three-bedroom home for $110,000 years ago in a Redwood City neighborhood where similar homes now cost $1.2 million. Yet his pension and other income have not kept up with the price of living.

“The cost of food, the water bill, medication…,” said Kapisi, who pays hundreds of dollars each month for diabetes medication. “Everything now is so high.”

Second Harvest Food Bank has been feeding food-insecure residents since 1979. In 1988, the San Mateo County Food Bank merged with Second Harvest.

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