The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank unveiled a new logo last week as part of its effort to integrate the North County Food Bank under its name to meet growing demand. The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Foodbank is the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County, acquiring, storing, organizing, and distributing food through a network of nearly 500 nonprofit partners. Although the merger happened in 2015 when the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank took over operations of the North County Food Bank, both food banks retained their respective names. Casey Castillo, CEO of Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, believes the time has come to take the next step by fully integrating North County Food Bank into Jacobs and Cushman’s regional network of services. “Our goal is to provide greater support to those in need throughout the county, and we believe unifying all of our operations under one name will eliminate any confusion,” said Castillo. “In 2015, the facility that we acquired and took over operations processed and distributed 500,000 pounds of food. Last year, we distributed 7.5 million pounds out of our facility in Vista alone.” Last year, the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank distributed 12 million pounds of food overall throughout North County. That figure accounts for nearly 25 percent of all food the Food Bank distributes countywide. Nearly 1 in 4 residents in San Diego County face food and nutrition insecurities. According to a 2023 Economic Impact and Recipient Data Report Jacobs & Cushman conducted with San Diego State University, North County respondents reported having average incomes of $16,336, which is approximately $8,000 less than the average income of $24,433 for other Food Bank recipients. Additionally, the report found that North County locations visited the Food Bank more often than other locations. Castillo believes that the name change will reduce confusion and enable the food bank to streamline its services, allowing it to better meet the needs of the communities it serves. “If people are confused, it means we’re not meeting the need entirely, and this is part of our effort to do that,” Castillo said. The name merger will also bring about more changes aimed at reducing confusion, such as consolidating operations under one single website where recipients throughout San Diego County can go to seek services and launching unified social media accounts to make it easier for families and individuals in the county to find services. The Food Bank has 12 programs that help it meet the needs of various demographics, from infants to senior citizens. Demand for the Food Bank and its services has grown in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Demand has increased substantially in the past five years and COVID certainly accelerated that,” Castillo said. “We went from serving about 300,000 people a month to the peak of COVID where we were serving 600,000.” Although those rates have since subsided, Castillo says they remain much higher than pre-COVID figures and have remained high ever since. Castillo says that numbers also uptick at critical points throughout the year, particularly during the holiday season and summer months when children are out of school and don’t have access to free and reduced lunches. According to the same 2023 Economic Impact and Recipient Data Report conducted by the Food Bank and SDSU, 73 percent of respondents surveyed reported having either part-time or full-time jobs. “The families and individuals we serve are working families and individuals. They are considered the working poor,” Castillo said. “They’re still struggling because they’re not making enough and having a hard time keeping up with inflationary pressures, utilities, medical bills, and rent.” Castillo says despite this expansive network there are still vulnerable populations that remain underserved. To address this, the Food Bank purchased several mobile pantries that allow them to directly identify vulnerable populations in the most efficient ways and take food directly into communities. Castillo believes that the Food Bank’s data-driven approach will continue to help it reach the most vulnerable communities throughout the county, particularly in North County, where there has been confusion regarding whether the North County Food Bank offers the same services as Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank despite being run by the organization. “We believe that this name change is an easy solution and that it was time to integrate both under one name,” Castillo said. “Our goal is to always make it as easy as possible to utilize our services. And when we can find those efficacies it means we’re able to provide more food and feed people better.”