AGENDA
The two-day Food ACCESS Conference will take place on Monday May 18th and Tuesday May 19th.
May 18 |
May 19 |
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8:00 AM Registration Opens 8:00 AM Expo Gallery Opens 11:00 AM Welcome and Opening 12:15 PM Lunch/ Expo Gallery 2:00 PM Workshop Session 1 3:15 PM Workshop Session 2 4:30 PM Workshop Session 3 5:30 PM Expo Gallery and Cocktails 7:30 PM Day 1 Ends |
7:30 AM Women in Operations Breakfast 8:00 AM Breakfast 8:30 AM Morning Plenary Begins: 10:00 AM Workshop Session 4 11:15 AM Lunch and Award Ceremony 1:30 PM Discussion Groups 4:00 PM Advocacy Day Check-in 6:00 PM Conference Ends *times subject to change
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WORKSHOP TRACKS:
Scroll to the right to view the tracks; sessions will be added as they are finalized.
Facilitators
- Jared Call, CAFB Director of Policy & Advocacy
- Josh Wright, CAFB Director of Government Affairs
- Gabby Davidson, CAFB Policy Advocate
Facilitators
- May Lynn Tan, CAFB Director of Research & Program Development
- Liz Kroboth, CAFB Research & Data Program Manager
Facilitators
- Stacy Robson, CAFB Chief Financial Officer
Facilitators
- Maria Houlne, CAFB Vice President, Farm to Family
- Sabrina Thakkar, CAFB Director of Farm to Family
Description
Representatives from different-sized food banks can discuss their budgeting strategies for produce and non-produce foods.
Presenters
- Emily Acosta, Produce Sourcing Manager Second Harveset of Silicon Valley
Presenters
- May Lynn Tan, CAFB Director of Research & Program Development
- Liz Kroboth, CAFB Research & Data Program Manager
Description
This session provides an overview of our vision for a Hunger Free San Diego, where anyone in need can readily access enough nutritious food. We will explain how the methodology used by the Hunger Coalition to estimate hunger in San Diego County can be used as a model to tackle hunger anywhere in the country, including how we track nutrition insecurity and food assistance meals around the county at the zip code level, allowing us to calculate a monthly meal gap for our region.
The session will also describe the work done by our Hunger Free San Diego Advisory Board and the community's role in Hunger Free San Diego by explaining how our research is aided by our resources and community trainings, such as our Hunger Free Navigator Training™, which directly trains community members to navigate food assistance for nutrition insecure families. We believe this approach can be replicated in other regions to close the meal gap through a data-driven and community led approach.
Presenters
- Joseph Kendrick, Research Manager San Diego Hunger Coalition
- Alondra Alvarado, President & CEO San Diego Hunger Coalition
Throughout the state, food banks have partnered with healthcare organizations to provide Medi-Cal patients with healthy groceries through the state's Medicaid waiver, CalAIM, over the last four years. The success and sustainability of these partnerships hinges on each stakeholder - from the health plan to the food bank and the supplier to the patient - feeling that the complex work required is worth it. This panel will feature diverse viewpoints on the financial viability and impact of Food is Medicine on these various sectors, particularly as the landscape shifts due to ongoing federal policy changes.
Description
This session provides an overview of our vision for a Hunger Free San Diego, where anyone in need can readily access enough nutritious food. We will explain how the methodology used by the Hunger Coalition to estimate hunger in San Diego County can be used as a model to tackle hunger anywhere in the country, including how we track nutrition insecurity and food assistance meals around the county at the zip code level, allowing us to calculate a monthly meal gap for our region.
The session will also describe the work done by our Hunger Free San Diego Advisory Board and the community's role in Hunger Free San Diego by explaining how our research is aided by our resources and community trainings, such as our Hunger Free Navigator Training™, which directly trains community members to navigate food assistance for nutrition insecure families. We believe this approach can be replicated in other regions to close the meal gap through a data-driven and community led approach.
Presenters
- Joseph Kendrick, Research Manager San Diego Hunger Coalition
Presenters
- Protecting Immigrant Families
- CAFB Advocacy Team
Presenters
- CAFB Advocacy Team
- CA Budget and Policy Advocacy Center
Description
To raise awareness of food insecurity in our community, in partnership with Feeding America and food banks nationwide, the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano honors Hunger Action Month every September. Throughout our presentation and panel discussion, we will share ideas and activations that food banks across California can use to engage their communities, staff, and elected officials throughout the month.
We will provide specific examples of engagement throughout our service area of Contra Costa and Solano Counties, along with our planning process, execution methods, and results.
We will share insights on how we have exceeded our Hunger Action Month fundraising goals year over year, actively provided food system education to our community, and launched new events in partnership with our business community.
Presenters
- Hailey Solares, Advocacy & Policy Manager, Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano
Description
In 2023, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank (SFMFB) faced the loss of pandemic-era funding, and they encountered a strategic dilemma: how to sunset their massive emergency response program (Pop-Up Pantries) without abandoning the staff and community who relied on it. This session tells the story of that 18-month transition, from the difficult decision to close a program serving more than 15,000 households to designing a "soft landing" for staff whose roles were ending. Co-presented by SFMFB leadership and Leah’s Pantry, this workshop illustrates how Trauma-Informed (TI) principles were operationalized to manage change. We will explore how SFMFB used financial reserves and a long runway to prioritize dignity for staff and participants, and how Leah’s Pantry’s TI training supported staff during challenging moments. Attendees will learn how transparency, leveling power imbalances, and validating grief can transform a funding crisis into a mission-driven moment.
Presenters
- Colby D'Onofrio, Training Specialist Leah's Pantry
- Adam Hoffman, Sneior Program Manager SF Marin Food Bank
have access to food security and resources. At times, Food Banks and food advocacy teams and partners can struggle to fully understand both the differences and similarities they have with faith-based organizations, and how we might be able to bridge the gap and foster stronger relationships, opening up great access to data, news from the ground work, and allies that can strengthen our advocacy work.This session would provide a look into the who, what, where how and why faith-based programs work, along with a deeper understanding of their own issues, concerns goals and needs. We would help Food Banking staff and partners learn how to make a positive impact within their agency relations and be better equipped to identify differences between faith-based orgs, without the need to get into cumbersome theological issues or needs. We would use fact sheets of what a faith based org is, what a church is, differences, styles, needs and how to advocate for health equity in such a way that ALL Faith Based Organizations can get behind. We would use real life examples from our own Food Bank and our faith based partners. A great opportunity for the average food bank hunger fighter to become better acquainted and prepared for teamwork with a sub-group that they may not have much familiarity or understand the underpinnings of.
Food access strategies often center on emergency response, policy, and logistics, yet youth engagement remains an under-explored opportunity. This workshop examines how school-based service learning can support food access efforts when designed to align with organizational capacity and minimize operational lift for food banks. Participants will explore common challenges related to youth engagement, stigma, and coordination with school systems, and will be introduced to a partnership-based framework that clarifies roles, responsibilities, and tradeoffs. Using real-world case studies, the session will explore key questions and lessons emerging from youth-centered food access initiatives without assuming a one-size-fits-all approach. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of when youth engagement may be most effective and what considerations should guide partnerships with schools.
Description
For Operations leaders who are looking to “barcode the warehouse”, “improve warehouse efficiency” or “stop walking around and looking for pallets so much”. Many food banks have deployed warehouse automation of some sort, but if you are at a food bank that has not, it can be a daunting project to tackle. In this ERP neutral session, we will cover:
1. What is involved in a warehouse automation initiative – what does “barcode the warehouse” really mean?
2. What options exist with the three most common ERP systems in use today at food banks (P2, Ceres, NetSuite)
3. What workflows can these systems improve? How? 4. What costs and process changes should you plan for?
We will also have pictures of food banks using their deployed tools. By the end of this session, you should have a much better understanding of these types of initiatives and be more prepared to steward your team through this evolution.
Presenters
- Sharon Jacobson, Founder/Consultant SJ Consulting Inc.
Presenters
- Wilken Louie, CAFB Senior Procurement Manager
This session will give the audience an in-depth of the AG and Transportation industry, with a panel that has been in the industry for years and experiences the challenges of growing and moving product. Captivating growing concerns in many sectors of AG this will provide answers that many of the food bankers are looking for when sourcing.
Description
This workshop introduces food bank staff and advocates to the fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) — tools that let us visualize location-based data to understand what is happening where. We’ll break down core concepts like geocoding and types of spatial data, and then compare commonly used mapping programs to help participants identify the tools that best fit their goals and capacity. The session will highlight real food bank use cases—such as mapping agency networks, identifying service gaps, supporting strategic planning, and improving public communications—to show how GIS can transform location-based data into actionable insights. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how mapping can enhance operations, programming, and storytelling, along with tangible resources to help them get started on their first mapping project.
Presenters
- Julia Rosales, Data Analyst Alameda County Community Food Bank
Description
CLBL’s Community Food Program operates the Mobile Farmers Market with a simple goal: bringing culturally relevant, local farm-fresh produce directly to neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food. This workshop explores how mobile markets can advance food equity while supporting small and beginning farmers. Participants will learn about CLBL’s operational model, EBT/nutrition incentive integration, and community engagement and collaboration strategies.
Presenters
- Christopher Gomez Wong, Community Food Program Manager Center for Land-Based Learning
Description
Universidad Popular, a grassroots community-based organization based in the north region of San Diego County serving the border region proposes to lead a workshop to share best practices to address food insecurity in low-income immigrant communities. Families in our region have been hard hit and directly impacted by immigration enforcement, workplace raids and enforcement across some of our neighborhoods. We would like to present a workshop sharing the ways in which community-based organizations have been impacted and how we respond to critical food access needs during these challenging times. We have organized neighborhood pantries, distributions, food drives and coordinate deliveries to families who are overwhelmed by fear and trauma resulting from cruel immigration enforcement tactics. This approach builds community connections and fosters mutualismo.
Presenters
- Arcela Nunez, Co-Director & Cofounder Universidad Popular
Description
What do you do when there is a food access gap in your service area and no existing food distribution partners? In Sacramento, we addressed this challenge by adopting a Community Growth Model to co-develop two public food distributions in partnership with local school districts. This workshop will explore our journey—from identifying areas of need and building strong partnerships to developing capacity and preparing these school districts to transition into independent food distribution partners. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their own experiences and exchange ideas for applying similar community-driven models in their own regions.
Presenters
- Karen Stach, Director of Programs Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services
Description
Catastrophic disasters can transform both the immediate and long-term food access landscape. In this interactive workshop, participants will work through a catastrophic earthquake scenario to examine how food insecurity evolves in a disrupted environment. The session will explore how cascading impacts—across transportation, utilities, healthcare, and the broader economy— shape supply chain disruptions, access barriers, and household stressors. Participants will leave with a broader understanding of post-disaster challenges and insights to inform more effective pre-event planning and resilience efforts.
Presenters
- Monika Stoefl, Executive Director CA Resiliency Aliance
Presenters
Amy Dierlam, CalFresh Outreach Director River City Food Bank
Aaron Kunst, Co-Director, CalFresh Outreach Cal State Chico