EAT.
Providing the nutritious food that kids and families need to thrive.
Over 25 million meals and 2.1 million pounds of produce served.
37% kids
in Oakland live in homes that are food insecure with children of color disproportionately affected
CHALLENGE
Hunger rates in America have doubled in the past year, with nearly 14 million kids going hungry every day. In Oakland, 37% of kids live in homes that are food insecure with children of color disproportionately affected.
VISION
Eat. Learn. Play. works on the front lines with community partners to ensure that every child and family has access to the nutritious food they need to thrive every day. In addition, we advocate at the local, state, and federal levels on critical policy issues to address systemic barriers to food security. As Ayesha Curry testified to Congress, “Every missed meal counts for a kid, because an empty stomach that hurts today also hurts their futures.”
OUR WORK
Continue short and long term hunger relief work in Oakland and nationwide.
FEEDING OAKLAND STUDENTS NUTRITIOUS MEALS
We want to ensure that all kids get the nutritious meals that they need every day. We are working with Oakland Unified School District to meet the nutritional needs of its students for the long-term, including making the new Oakland Central Kitchen fully operational to deliver millions of fresh meals annually to Oakland students.
FIGHTING HUNGER
With 37% of Oakland kids living in food insecure homes, we will continue to support Alameda County Community Food Bank and other partners so that they are able to reach more kids and their families throughout Oakland and the Bay Area.
MEETING FAMILIES WHERE THEY ARE
The Eat. Learn. Play. Bus is an innovative way to bring resources to families where they are while also challenging the stigma that exists about receiving free food. The Bus will deliver 500,000 pounds of produce and grocery staples, and 50,000 restaurant meals to kids and families in Oakland, in addition to a variety of other products and wraparound services.
ADVOCATE FOR KID-PARTISAN POLICIES
In partnership with local and national partners, such as No Kid Hungry, the Foundation will continue to play an important supportive role in advocating for local, state, and federal policies, such as increasing SNAP funding, Pandemic EBT, and the Childhood Nutrition Reauthorization Act. Ayesha Curry's testimony on April 28, 2021 before the House Rules Committee and the Congressional Hunger Caucus, followed by Chairman Jim McGovern's visit to Oakland, has put the food security work of Eat. Learn. Play. in the national spotlight, helping unlock more resources to support food-insecure families.
COVID-19 Relief
Since March 2020, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided over 25 million meals and 4 million pounds of groceries to Oakland families and others in need. We have also delivered 2.7 million pounds of fresh produce to 24,000 families throughout Oakland public schools and parks & recreation youth campsites. With World Central Kitchen, the Foundation engaged 130 Oakland restaurants to deliver over 2.5 million meals, putting over 850 restaurant employees back to work.Over 1,000 individuals and organizations contributed to this effort, made possible through partnerships with World Central Kitchen, Alameda County Community Food Bank, and Oakland Unified School District.
Community Partners
Alameda County Community Food Bank, No Kid Hungry, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development, Community Kitchens, TomKat Foundation, and local Oakland restaurants.