Opinion: Hunger is a hidden consequence of housing crisis

I find the holidays particularly hard because they sharpen the contrast between how easy it is for me to acquire the food I need for my family, and how impossible it is for some of our neighbors. Hunger is a hidden consequence of the housing crisis in Silicon Valley. We all know the lack of affordable housing is pushing people onto the streets – homelessness has increased 31% in the last two years in Santa Clara County alone. We see the proliferation of RVs parked along city streets and tents tucked away under bridges. But hunger is an often invisible problem that the rising cost of living has created. As rents spiral out of control, families are forced to sacrifice nutritious food to pay for housing and other basic necessities.

You may not realize that a lot of your neighbors can’t afford to buy groceries because you can’t always tell who is hungry, but I see it every day in my work at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. Moms frequently confide that they have to skip meals – or resort to the dollar menu at fast food restaurants – just so their kids can eat.

With hunger at an all-time high in Silicon Valley, Second Harvest is serving more people than ever before – people who are just trying to live their lives in one of the most expensive places in the country. These are parents working jobs vital to our community, kids who need nutritious food to grow up strong and healthy, seniors living on fixed incomes, and college students struggling to pay for school.

Recently I met a single mother at one of our grocery distributions who had her monthly rent increased by $300. She was worried about how she would feed her three children because even though she works full-time, she couldn’t afford the higher rent and still provide nutritious food for her family. She was excited to find out she could get fresh produce and other healthy items from the food bank every week.

I’m concerned about the long-term health consequences for our neighbors, especially children and seniors, who don’t have enough nutritious food to eat. We all need it to function properly and fully engage in our lives. But there are significant barriers to accessing food that have to be addressed. That includes lack of knowledge about where to go for help, conflicting work schedules and limited transportation, as well as the stigma and shame associated with seeking assistance.

Second Harvest is working with our partners to make food more accessible by opening more grocery distribution sites where people live, work and attend school, and at more convenient times like evenings and weekends. We currently partner with 310 nonprofits to provide food at 1,000 sites in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. We are also finding ways to make our distributions more welcoming – nobody should ever have to feel uncomfortable picking up food for their family. But Second Harvest and other organizations working to end local hunger need the community’s support to continue to break down these barriers and reach more people.

At a time when there is so much divisiveness in our country, making sure our neighbors have enough healthy food to eat is something we can all agree on. Sharing food is one of the most basic acts of kindness. You can help this holiday season by writing a check, donating food or volunteering your time – whatever you can contribute has the power to change lives. Let’s all come together and support organizations working on the hidden crisis of hunger because everyone in our community should be able to get the nutritious food they need to thrive.

Leslie Bacho is CEO of Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.