Neighborhood Leaders Makes Things Better

BY JESSICA ZIMMER

The View canvassed its readers to identify individuals who volunteer their time to make a positive difference in their community, some of whom are described in this article. The paper welcomes nominations of others.

Katherine Doumani serves as the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association (DNA) executive committee president, elected to the role in 2019 and 2022. She’s been a San Franciscan for 22 years, initially landing in the Western Addition before moving to Tennessee Street. She works in property management.

According to Doumani, DNA has just under 200 members who pay an annual $25 fee, with complimentary membership available to residents with limited resources.

Its emails are opened by roughly 1,000 people, a communication effort it bolsters with street posters, social media, and monthly community cleanup days. DNA sponsors an annual block party on Minnesota Street in April and a winter holiday gathering in collaboration with The Potrero Boosters.

Doumani said one of DNA’s recent accomplishments was preventing the splitting of Dogpatch from Potrero Hill as part of the 2020-mandated redistricting of supervisorial boundaries. DNA also advocated for Esprit Park’s renovation “with a design to serve everyone in our community.”

The organization is working to reduce cut-through traffic in Dogpatch to make the neighborhood safer

BY DANNY PHAM

Every Saturday afternoon on the corner of De Haro and Mariposa streets, San Franciscans line up at Saint Gregory’s Episcopal Church promptly at noon to collect groceries provided by the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. It’s one of several initiatives the nonprofit has led over the past 30 years, including sponsoring college food pantries, helping families apply for CalFresh assistance, home-delivering foodstuffs, as well as policy advocacy to reduce the risks of hunger.

The Food Bank distributes to more than 350 agencies in San Francisco and Marin. Food Pantries, volunteer-led dispersal locations, also rely on the Bank.

“Though the Food Bank operates 22 Popup Food Pantries, the majority of the 250 food pantries in our network are run by community partners like Saint Gregory’s Episcopal Church,” said Tina Gonzales, Director of Community Partnerships, SF-Marin Food Bank. “Those that don’t have weekly food distribution may rely on our Food Bank to support their meal and snack programs. Examples of these are schools, meal programs, churches and more.”

Before the pandemic, about one in five Marin and San Francisco residents were at risk of being insufficiently nourished, according to Gonzales. However, the demand for food is even greater today.

“We’re seeing a sustained 72 percent increase in need for our services, and we are spending five times more on food compared to 2019. Over and over, we hear from neighbors that food is just too expensive at the grocery store; especially

The Food Bank works closely with its partners to assess specific food needs and make sure offered items are relevant to the community being served. For example, at some supportive sites that cater to unhoused populations, low- or no-cook meals are provided.

Earlier this year, the CalFresh program announced that federal government benefits provided during the COVID pandemic, which’d been allocated to low-income families across California for the last three years, would end.

“In March, CalFresh participants saw the last payout of extra emergency allotments they received during the pandemic. A return to pre-pandemic payouts means that San Francisco recipients lost an average of $160 a month. Single CalFresh recipients are now receiving as little as $23; what can you buy for $23 in San Francisco?” said Gonzales.

According to Gonzales, there’s a feeling amongst policymakers and the public that the pandemic and its effects are over. But the financial consequences of the emergency continue to linger.

According to a recent survey, almost three-quarters of Food Bank participants haven’t recovered financially from the pandemic; and near four-fifths often worry about running out of food.

The Food Bank serves a diverse population; many recipients are multicultural and speak English as a second language. More than two-thirds of Food Bank participants are Asian, and almost one-fifth Hispanic/Latinx. Cantonese is the most common language spoken, fol-