Organization continues to provide food to its nonprofit partners feeding hungry and homeless individuals in Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, CA, USA, May 20, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The pandemic crisis has severely impacted many Silicon Valley businesses, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers jobless. In response, Hunger at Home has modified its business model, using its extensive food production experience and distribution capacity to provide meals and groceries directly to those who are newly food insecure as well as local nonprofits. Hunger at Home will showcase this massive food distribution and community effort at a press conference on May 20th.

Hunger at Home is best known for partnering with convention centers, hotels, stadiums, entertainment venues and high-end tech company cafeterias to distribute surplus food and supplies to charitable organizations to feed those in need. In response to the crisis, professional chefs and hospitality executives from such Bay Area entertainment venues as Oracle Park, Levi’s Stadium, and Chase Center are transforming tons of donated food items into delicious, healthy, balanced meals for those in need.

“It's like Iron Chef,” says Paul Bernardt, executive chef for The Lodge at Pebble Beach. “We don’t know what’s going to be donated, so our job is to look through what we have and compose a well-balanced dish with protein, starch, and a vegetable -- something that is nutritional and also tastes great.” Due to a decline in donations, Hunger at Home must purchase food to supplement its food production. Chef Bernardt and his fellow culinary crew members volunteered at Hunger at Home for years. Today, their delicious food is available directly to anyone in need.

As the COVID-19 crisis hit, Hunger at Home took over a restaurant catering facility adjacent to its distribution headquarters in San Jose. “We immediately pivoted from food distribution to production,” says Hunger at Home founder and CEO Ewell Sterner. Since March 19th, Hunger at Home has produced and distributed well over 300,000 meals. Twice a week, a line of cars, often stretching a mile long, forms at the organization’s San Jose distribution center, where families can receive meals, bags of groceries, and Shelter in Place Kits from SHIP (a local nonprofit) containing essentials such as toilet paper, paper towels, and canned goods as well as puzzles, games, and other items for kids.

The need is immense and growing, and there is no end in sight. Hunger at Home, however, offers a ray of hope, with an existing infrastructure that is only operating at a fraction of its capacity. “We’re operating at about 10 percent of what we could provide,” says Chief Operating Officer Dinari Brown. “We’re providing 3,000 to 4,000 meals a day now. With additional donations and financial support, we could easily provide 50,000 meals a day.” With shelter-in-place extended to the end of May and restaurant, hospitality, and entertainment workers not expected to return to work for months, Hunger at Home predicts the need for support will increase and stretch well into late summer and beyond.

The May 20th press conference will highlight Hunger at Home’s pivot to mass direct distribution of meals. Its team of volunteer executive chefs will discuss their unique brand of magic in converting tons of surplus food into appetizing, healthy meals. And Hunger at Home execs will explain their changing business model, its potential, and how the community can support their efforts to feed those suddenly wondering where their next meal will come from.

WHEN:
Wednesday, May 20, 2020

TIME:
10:15 AM

WHERE:
Hunger at Home Distribution Center
1560 Berger Drive
San Jose, CA 95112

VISUALS:
500 cars lined up for food, many with hand-made signs thanking volunteers
Busy volunteers loading groceries and meals for thousands of those in need
Professional chefs and hospitality executives cooking
People prepping family and individual meals, boxed lunches and grocery bags
Shelter-in-Place (SIP) Kits

WHO:
- Ewell Sterner, Founder & CEO, Hunger at Home
- Dinari Brown, COO, Hunger at Home (Spanish Speaker)
- Chuck Toeniskoetter, Hunger at Home Board member; Toeniskoetter Development & Toeniskoetter Construction Chairman
- The Lodge at Pebble Beach Executive Chef, Paul Bernardt & other furloughed professional Bay Area Chefs
- Local 19 Representative (Unite Here), Local 134 Representative (IATSE), and Sysco Food Service

Contact:
Terry Downing, PRxDigital
(408) 838-0962 | terry_downing@prxdigital.com

About Hunger at Home:
Each day in Silicon Valley, tens of thousands of pounds of excess food and surplus goods are dumped in our landfills and go to waste. In a Valley where one in three people experience food insecurity, Hunger at Home was created to connect this food and goods to those in need. Hunger at Home partners with local convention centers, hotels, and sports venues to collect excess food and goods to distribute to the homeless and hungry through a robust nonprofit network. To date, Hunger at Home has donated 3.3 million meals locally and helped distribute tons of much needed goods like towels, blankets, kitchen items, and hygiene kits. Hunger at Home also proudly assists its charity and nonprofit partners with job placement and equipment needs.

Terry Downing
PRxDigital
+1 (408) 838-0962
email us here
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Interview with Ewell Sterner, Hunger at Home's Founder & CEO