Highlights Part 2 from our Covid-19 Special Series
Interview
Katy McKnight, George Gundry, Kenneth Kim, Jim Oswald, Allison Goodwin, Meghan Freebeck, Mark Bailey, Martha Martinez, Nils Behnke, Doniece Sandoval, Kris Kepler, Sammie Rayner, Kelly Bathgate
This second highlight episode from our COVID-19 series journeys through San Francisco and the North Bay’s food-security ecosystem at its breaking point. Frontline leaders share how they moved entire meal programs outdoors, expanded pop-up pantries, built new hygiene hubs and hotel-based shelters, and kept elders safely fed at home—often with fewer volunteers and greater risk.
We explore: How food banks built pop-up pantries and data-driven “daily essentials” programs. Why seniors, families, Black and Latinx communities bear the brunt of food insecurity. Mobile showers, hygiene hubs, and hand-washing stations as public health. Hotel-based shelters, sobering centers, and drop-in hubs for unhoused neighbors. The emotional impact on staff and volunteers who “never closed”
Featuring voices from SF-Marin Food Bank, Glide Memorial Church, Meals on Wheels SF, Redwood Empire Food Bank, Simply the Basics, Hayes Valley Bakeworks, St. Anthony’s, Lava Mae X, Community Forward SF, Tipping Point, and Project Homeless Connect. Listen in, then visit voicesofthecommunity.com to explore resources, support the featured organizations, and help us match donations for three regional food providers.
Voices of the Community, George Koster, KSFP, ksfp 102.5, Eric Estrada, Kasey Nance, Citron Studio, Bay Area Video Coalition, alien boy productions, KPCA, kpca 103.3, BAVC Media, Paula Arrigoni, Andy Kawanami, Citron Studio, Kasey Nance
Five years after the shutdowns, small businesses are still rebuilding. This highlight episode surfaces what hurt—and what helped—from PPP/EIDL and SBA debt relief to on-the-ground technical help and community buying. Hear insights from SBA, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, Bayview Bistro, CVL Economics, SFMade, GGRA, Blue Plate SF, Nana Joe’s Granola, En2Action, and more. Listen, then act: order direct, buy gift cards, book local catering, and support the organizations and owners featured here.
Part two continues a three-episode highlight arc drawn from our special COVID-19 series. During the pandemic's depths, the series provided a platform for frontline leaders share how they moved entire meal programs outdoors, expanded pop-up pantries, built new hygiene hubs and hotel-based shelters, and kept elders safely fed at home—often with fewer volunteers and greater risk. Five years later, we revisit these powerful conversations, honoring the ongoing resilience of local organizations still fighting hunger and food insecurity today. Here's the link to the ep web landing page: https://georgekoster.com/voc-c19-highlights-part-2
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