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Our Mission
Providing food for people in need in our community.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties has been providing services to the community for 35 years. We are the single largest nonprofit provider of food to low income households in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and are the seventh largest food bank in the country. We provide food to an average of 163,000 individuals each month. Of those we serve, 67% are families with children and 12% are seniors.

Last year, we provided 31.7 million pounds of food to those in need through our network of 400 nonprofit agencies at 821 distribution sites. As a leader in the community, we go beyond food assistance and operate community nutrition programs and a multilingual toll free hotline where callers can learn how to access the food programs in their neighborhoods. We work with lawmakers to advocate for policy changes and strive to eliminate hunger and its root causes. Click here to see how we work.

Second Harvest Food Bank is a certified member of America's Second Harvest, a network of food banks and food distribution programs in the United States. This membership allows Second Harvest Food Bank to cooperate with other member food banks, to receive food from national corporate food donors, and to benefit from national publicity and mutual support.

Brief History
The Food Bank, Inc. of Santa Clara County was formed in 1974 by Economic and Social Opportunities, and incorporated as a non-profit agency in 1979. In 1988, the San Mateo County Food Bank merged with The Food Bank, Inc. of Santa Clara County to become Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

In 1992, Second Harvest Food Bank moved into a new 65,000 square foot warehouse in San Jose which serves as its main food distribution center. In June of 1995, the Peninsula Distribution Center began serving San Mateo County in a newly renovated 22,000 square foot warehouse in San Carlos.

Non-Discrimination Policy
All persons seeking access to services, employment, volunteer work or membership on a committee or governing body of Second Harvest Food Bank will be accorded equal treatment, regardless of age (except as provided by law), ancestry, color, creed, disabled veteran, marital status, national origin, qualified disabled individual, race, religion, sex (except as provided by law), sexual orientation, or veteran of the Vietnam War.