Texting for Food in San Francisco

Texting for your Next Meal in California

How Sonoma County is making it easier for residents to access food banks with texts.

In Sonoma County California there’s a way to find your next meal thanks to a quick text.

Gillian Haley leads the initiative, known simply as Text Food, in which people can text FOOD or COMIDA to 707-353-6333 and using their zip code, find locations in their area about food banks and free meals.

It’s a countywide, bilingual system in the San Francisco Bay area supporting low-income residents during these difficult times. The database of food providers is completely volunteer maintained.

“Sometimes it’s not all about funding but about hearts and hands,” says Haley, the Executive Director of Justicewise who supports the project.

Community partners help them get the word out about the text line. They sent out a notice in electric bills to the whole town, have gone to school district meetings to distribute fliers and the local newspaper printed the text line too.

It takes time to build trust with local communities but Haley notes, “Texting reliable information builds trust.”