We deliver meals to seniors and others in need.

HelpBerkeley.org is a grassroots all-volunteer non-profit founded in March 2020 to help feed those at-risk during the pandemic. In 2020 we made over 20,000 food deliveries, with over 150 volunteer drivers. This year we are on a path to deliver ten times more---200,000 meals---for free, to seniors and others who need it.

The need we find is such that our free meals program is expanding quickly—so quickly, in fact, that we may be maxing out our first kitchen in the next few weeks: we are already hard at work to try and launch a second kitchen. Many of our own members cannot afford even low-cost meals: 17% or more are food insecure. Despite the upcoming vaccinations, many of our neighbors will continue to suffer, in the coming year, from food insecurity due to job loss or other pandemic-related setbacks. We are finding out that those we help in this program are mostly those who fall through the cracks: we are their last, or only opportunity to get food.

We can’t do this without your help. We are as cost-effective as one can be: it costs us $78 every month to feed one of our neighbors 6 solid meals per week. But we may need to feed 600-800 of our neighbors, or more, every month this year. We have already raised over $30,000---we will probably need ten times more over the year.

Can you please make a generous recurring donation now? Can you feed one of our neighbors every month for the rest of the year, for $78 per month—or give whatever you can?

We have proven ourselves over the last year: you can read about us on Berkeleyside and the Daily Cal, or the proclamation that the City of Berkeley issued about us. We have been featured on KPIX and KCBS. Check out our Bay Area Jefferson Award---San Francisco State calls it "the Nobel Prize for public service. It recognizes people who make a difference on a daily basis in their local communities—unsung heroes who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or award":

In 12 months, we have gone from 6 to 350 volunteers, 1,400 members, and 450 donors. We started in a small neighborhood and kept on expanding. Right now we cover Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, and a bit of North Oakland, Emeryville, and South El Cerrito. We work hand-in-hand with the City of Berkeley, the County of Alameda, and our elected officials, many of whom (such as Senator Nancy Skinner, Mayor Jesse Arreguín, and Vice Mayor Sophie Hahn) have recognized us. We have a robust organization that is up to the task: We will deliver.

But we need your help. Please contribute to us every month in 2021: people need food day after day. We can provide six subsidized or free meals per week for $78 per month. Please give as much as you can. You can also to donate to HelpBerkeley with a charitable trust or a donor-advised fund.

We are in the middle of an exceptional pandemic: we have to go back 100 years (1918) to find an equivalent in history. We must all make exceptional efforts that we would not consider in normal situations to overcome it. We are neighbors helping neighbors: please give meals to those who need them, and join us to volunteer!

We are your neighbors: help us fight food insecurity

By HelpBerkeley

We are your neighbors: help us fight food insecurity

HelpBerkeley brings meals to those at-risk for COVID-19: give 6 solid meals per week for $78/mo