Dsal is working with a network of partners and funders to put a system into place that will not only provide vulnerable communities with immediate access to food, but also support local restaurants…

Dsal is working with a network of partners and funders to put a system into place that will not only provide vulnerable communities with immediate access to food, but also support local restaurants and food businesses. The covid-19 crisis and shelter-in-place orders are creating severe economic stress and making IT more challenging than ever for disadvantaged communities to access healthy, affordable food. Thousands of people have lost their jobs in alameda county, and schools that provide kids with at least one healthy meal a day are no longer in session, making access to food a daunting societal challenge. At the same time, many small food businesses, which operate on tight margins under normal circumstances, are now at risk of closure and are scrambling to adapt their business models mid-crisis to sell their food and make ends meet. These issues pose an impending threat to public health, economic development and public safety.with the help of our community partners, and grant funds from multiple organizations food as medicine has been able to provide produce grown at DIG deep farms (DDF) to families and community members in need. We have also been able to purchase prepared meals from local food businesses for distribution to home-bound seniors, medically vulnerable patients, and families experiencing food insecurity and hunger due to the covid-19 pandemic. Dsal has access to delivery vans and east BAY paratransit to deliver food to those who can't get to schools, food pantries, and other food distribution sites. These efforts have enabled dsal and the food as medicine project to pay for and distribute between over 1,000 meals per week for the last three months.while this is an important accomplishment, IT only addresses short-term needs for a limited number of beneficiaries. We are working to raise additional funds for emergency meals from the county and other sources and also pursuing funding streams that can sustain and grow a socially equitable local food production and delivery system, including innovative use of snap/calfresh and medi-CAL funding.FAM plans to hire a deputy director of food systems to manage all aspects of our dsal/DDF food systems initiative, including partnership development, systems development, and business planning in tandem with dsal's executive director and operations director; budget and fiscal management; reporting, and overseeing the planning and evaluation processes with our consultants. Our food hub manager, mika tesfaye, will support food hub planning, operations, and relationship building with area farmers, food systems entrepreneurs, and other food system partners.