Good Cheer Needs Good Neighbors

In my family, the holidays are about gathering around the table—sharing meals, welcoming neighbors, and creating moments of connection through food and conversation. This year, that table exists alongside a hard truth: many of our neighbors are suffering. Disruptions to SNAP and Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP)) funds are increasing food insecurity. Paychecks aren’t keeping up with rent or grocery bills. Additionally, federal immigration enforcement is fueling fears that shows up in classrooms, kitchens, and workplaces.

In This CEO Blog

• What our neighbors are facing
• What United Way Bay Area is doing right now
• How to be a good neighbor this season
• Join us

What our neighbors are facing

More than 626,000 people in our region, including 101,000 children, depend on CalFresh to put dinner on the table. When those benefits are interrupted, families face impossible trade-offs: a parent skipping meals so kids can eat or choosing between paying rent and buying groceries. Meanwhile, school counselors are handling heavier caseloads as young people absorb the stress of instability and separation caused by anxiety over immigration enforcement.

I share this because understanding leads to action. If the holidays call us to be of good cheer, they also call us to be good neighbors.

What United Way Bay Area is doing right now

We launched the United to End Hunger relief fund to provide emergency food assistance to Bay Area residents affected by the November SNAP disruption. Even before this freeze, food banks and meal programs faced record demand – a reminder that hunger persists even when federal funds are available. Today, millions in EFSP funds remain frozen in Washington, leaving food pantries across our network to stretch without the resources they were promised. Your donations are addressing urgent needs now while helping build long-term food security for vulnerable families.

We’re also engaging partners and volunteers. Earlier this month, we collaborated with our corporate partner BMO to pack cold-weather care kits with essentials for neighbors facing homelessness and food insecurity. When traditional safety nets fall short, the UWBA network expands.

How to be a good neighbor this season

You don’t need to solve every problem. You don’t need to give more than you can. Even small acts ripple outward.

• Check in – be there for a senior or anyone spending the holidays alone and let them know they are not.
• Share resources – tell a friend about 211, our 24/7 helpline for food, housing, and other support.
• Give what you can – donate canned goods to a local pantry or visit uwba.org/hunger to support the United to End Hunger fund.
• Choose one thing – do something small that says to a neighbor: I see you, and I care.

Join us

This season, celebrate with solidarity.

When we stand together, when we decide no family should face crisis alone, we create a community driven by values and compassion. We can make this season brighter for all our neighbors.

United is, and has always been, the Way.

Happy Holidays.

Keisha Browder
CEO, United Way Bay Area