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The new facility secured by Open Heart Kitchen will allow the nonprofit to expand their outreach and meal services. (Image courtesy Open Heart Kitchen) -
Open Heart Kitchen works to serve families battling food insecurity and hunger in the Tri-Valley. (Image courtesy Open Heart Kitchen) -
Open Heart Kitchen works to serve families battling food insecurity and hunger in the Tri-Valley. (Image courtesy Open Heart Kitchen) -
Open Heart Food Bank anticipates it will serve up to 100,000 Senior Meal Program participants and 1,600 low-income recipients in the area for the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year. The expanded service is thanks to its new operating warehouse. (Image courtesy Open Heart Kitchen)
Tri-Valley nonprofit Open Heart Kitchen has announced the launch of a new program aimed at addressing food insecurity and hunger in the region.
Known as the Open Heart Food Bank, the operation will run out of a 19,000-square-foot facility in Livermore to distribute food and offer meal services to those in need when it opens by the end of this year, officials said. The food bank initiative is a continuation of OHK’s COVID-19 response and its goal of serving 3 million meals between 2020 and 2022.
OHK currently serves 1,500 households through two regular pop-up food distribution sites in Dublin and Pleasanton. With the new facility on Marathon Drive, OHK staff have said they will now be able to increase their operations, providing even more resources to vulnerable communities.
“We are expanding our capacity to provide more people with access to fresh produce and groceries, in addition to prepared hot meals,” Executive Director John Bost said in the announcement.
“Together with the Alameda County Community Food Bank, we estimate that the new Open Heart Food Bank will reach 15,000 individuals in the Tri-Valley region. Not only will we be able to accept more deliveries, we can now distribute food like the Alameda County Food Bank but on a smaller, more efficient, accessible and localized scale,” Bost added.
The organization runs a hot meal program, senior meal program and a street outreach program. According to OHK, most of the families they serve discovered OHK after the pandemic severely impacted their financial status.
In the 2023-24 fiscal year, OHK anticipates it will serve up to 100,000 senior meal program participants and 1,600 low-income recipients in the area. According to staff, the kitchen’s hot meals program has seen a 6% increase in demand since last year alone.
“With this new facility, Open Heart Kitchen can eventually scale to redistributing upwards of 1 million pounds of fresh produce and groceries per year to our local community,” Bost said. “The Open Heart Food Bank will provide a means to meet the region’s needs more comprehensively and will be operational at a critical time when we can pull people back from the hunger cliff.”
In May 2022, the organization was selected as the Alameda County Community Food Bank Tri-Valley redistribution partner, meaning OHK would have access to additional funding and resources.
The Alameda County Community Food Bank has committed $500,000 in funds to launch the Open Heart Food Bank.
“The cost of building out the Open Heart Food Bank is $3 million, so we will require the support of Open Heart Kitchen’s donors and community partners to invest in the organization’s growth and the launch of the Open Heart Food Bank,” Bost said.
Erick Lovdahl, OHK board member and vice president of operations for the Alameda County Community Food Bank, also spoke about the food bank initiative in the announcement.
“It was clear that Open Heart Kitchen was the organization with the capacity to serve as the redistribution organization partner for the Tri-Valley. The growth of Open Heart Kitchen in the last few years proves that there is a need for a localized food system,” Lovdahl said. “Streamlining the delivery routes to the Tri-Valley and then distributing that food to local food pantries will significantly increase efficiency in our member network.”
Founded in 1995, OHK began as a grassroots effort to assist community members struggling with hunger. To learn more about the organization, visit openheartkitchen.org.
