The San Jose Sharks stepped up for the community after hearing about the struggles at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, donating $56,000 to the food bank.
After seeing the NBC Bay Area story about Second Harvest closing its largest warehouse, the Sharks Foundation responded with the funds.
"As always, the San Jose Sharks are proud of the work we do in the community and know it’s our role and responsibility to be a good community partner, assisting in times of need such as this," Sharks spokesperson Jim Sparaco wrote in a statement to NBC Bay Area. "The Sharks Foundation has worked with Second Harvest in the past on many successful projects for the benefit of our community."
On June 6, Second Harvest said it was forced to leave the 90,000-square-foot warehouse on Brennan Street in San Jose because of a looming rent hike.
Diane Hayward, a spokesperson for Second Harvest, said the food bank is moving ahead with plans to operate out of its three remaining warehouses, two in San Jose and one in San Mateo County.
Second Harvest is serving record numbers of people, about 500,000 a month, which is similar to 2020 numbers but with 40% less financial support, Hayward said.
"There are so many people in our community who are struggling right now with inflation, the cost of living here and the cuts to CalFresh," Hayward said. "For Second Harvest to respond at these levels for such an extended period of time, we must have the continued support of the community. … The (Sharks) Foundation's donation is just incredible and uplifts all of us. It's truly such an example of neighbors helping neighbors and is coming in at a time when we really need it."
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Hayward said the Sharks provided similar support to Second Harvest during the pandemic.
The Sharks Foundation gift will help Second Harvest provide more than 100,000 meals, Hayward said.
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