United Way Bay Area receives $3M grant from Safeway Foundation to address food insecurity

United Way Bay Area receives $3M grant from Safeway Foundation to address food insecurity

The 4-year grant will fund monthly stipends and financial coaching to help break the cycle of poverty and end hunger for 100 families in Alameda County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Blake Case
(601) 832-6079
blake@emccommunications.com

San Francisco, Calif., June 12, 2023 – United Way Bay Area (UWBA) is awarded a multi-year $3 million grant from Safeway Foundation to help address food insecurity and end the cycle of hunger. The grant is part of the Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors campaign, designed to support innovative organizations that help tackle poverty and move individuals and families away from food insecurity. For more than a century, United Way Bay Area has been assessing needs at the local level and mobilizing networks and solutions to dismantle the root causes of poverty.

The grant to UWBA will help fund a community-based pilot program in Alameda County supporting 100 families in the most marginalized communities by 2027. Families will receive monthly cash stipends and customized financial coaching and planning as part of the innovative approach to ending hunger in our community. The monthly stipend will help relieve immediate financial stress and the financial coaching and planning will help to build the skills needed to reach economic security in the long term.

“With one in four Bay Area families unable to make ends meet, we’re so thankful for this grant from Safeway Foundation. No family can get ahead if they’re worried about where their next meal is coming from. Over the past century, programs we have designed and scaled across the Bay Area in partnership with our vast network of partners have impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents,” said Kevin Zwick, CEO of United Way Bay Area. “We serve our clients in their moment of need, but also work with them to change the trajectory of their financial futures through education and coaching, helping them to create their own pathways to prosperity.”

UWBA’s selection for this grant is a testament to the organization’s more than 100 years of experience in understanding the needs of families in the region and its work to create and scale innovative solutions that support people’s ability to sustain themselves and their families. UWBA is one of just three organizations chosen for this grant, out of hundreds of applicants across the country.

“We’re so grateful for this new partnership with Safeway Foundation and excited to see the impact we can create together in Alameda County,” said Carolina Martin, Vice President of Development at United Way Bay Area. “The work we do to dismantle poverty in the Bay Area is more important than ever, and this investment from the Foundation will go a long way in our fight against hunger and food insecurity.”

Safeway Foundation is part of the national Albertsons Companies Foundation, which made this grant funding possible. The Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors charitable program seeks to ensure at-risk children, adults, seniors and families have access to the food they need to thrive.

About United Way Bay Area
United Way Bay Area (UWBA) mobilizes the Bay Area to assist people living in poverty and to dismantle the root causes of poverty. One of the most respected and highly effective philanthropic organizations fighting poverty, UWBA supports workers and students seeking employment and better careers, helps families struggling to meet basic needs, supports our neighbors toward achieving their financial stability goals, and advocates for housing justice for all Bay Area residents. Learn more at uwba.org.