Redwood Credit Union Expands Food Security Efforts with Innovative Porch-to-Pantry Donation Program Across SF and North Bay
As food insecurity continues to affect thousands of families across Northern California, community organizations are increasingly turning to new, accessible ways to make a meaningful difference. This holiday season, Redwood Credit Union (RCU) has launched an expanded and highly convenient approach to community giving—introducing a “porch-to-pantry” doorstep food drive model in partnership with A Simple Gesture (ASG), a nonprofit startup dedicated to making charitable food contributions easy for everyday residents.
Running through December 19, the initiative encourages households in San Francisco and the North Bay to donate shelf-stable food items simply by placing them outside their front doors, where volunteers will collect and deliver them directly to local food banks and community pantries. With funding cuts to essential hunger-relief organizations and the continued effects of economic strain, the effort represents a timely response to rising need—while removing the typical barriers that can discourage participation in traditional food drives.
Addressing a Rising Community Need
In recent months, food banks and social support agencies across the region have reported increased demand coupled with reduced funding. Families, seniors, and workers across multiple income brackets have felt the impact of inflation, limited public assistance, and disruptions related to the government shutdown. As a result, organizations such as the SF-Marin Food Bank, Redwood Empire Food Bank, and Community Action of Napa Valley have seen more people turning to them for essential support.
For Redwood Credit Union, addressing these challenges is deeply aligned with its mission and values.
Supporting essential human needs like food security has been a priority for RCU for decades, and right now, it’s more important than ever,
says Brett Martinez, President and CEO of Redwood Credit Union.
The credit union has long been recognized not only as a financial services provider, but as a community anchor institution—one that invests in local well-being, stability, and long-term resilience. In 2025 alone, RCU has contributed more than $250,000 to community-based organizations working to reduce hunger and food insecurity. Beyond financial support, RCU employees volunteer regularly at local food banks, demonstrating a hands-on commitment to neighbors in need.
However, as Martinez and the RCU team observed an increase in food insecurity leading up to the current shutdown, it became clear that the community needed a scalable, simple, and reliable donation model that could reach across neighborhoods with minimal friction.
How the Porch-to-Pantry Model Works
The cornerstone of this new approach is accessibility. Instead of Redwood requiring donors to transport food to a collection site, the program brings the process directly to their neighborhoods and homes.
Community members can sign up to participate either at any RCU branch or online, after which they receive instructions on what and how to donate. Donors simply:
- Collect shelf-stable items such as canned vegetables, grains, pasta, peanut butter, and boxed meals.
- Place the items in a designated bag or box.
- Leave the donations outside their door on the scheduled pick-up dates.
Volunteers will then collect the donations on:
- November 8
- December 13
Any items collected will be delivered to the nearest partner food distribution centers. Donations made after December 13 can still be dropped off directly at participating food banks through December 19.
We know from experience that our community wants to help when there’s a need—so we want to make it easy for them to engage and support,”
Martinez explains.
“This innovative porch-to-pantry food drive makes it simple and convenient for people to donate and know they’re making a difference.
By reducing physical and logistical barriers—such as transportation time, branch hours, or mobility challenges—the program invites participation from a broader range of community members, including working families, seniors, and individuals who may previously have been unable to take part in food drives.
A Partnership Built for Community Impact
The collaboration with A Simple Gesture (ASG) is a key piece of the program’s design. ASG specializes in developing systems that turn charitable giving into an easy and routine part of everyday life. TheRedwood nonprofit uses technology tools, coordinated volunteer networks, and route-based logistics to efficiently collect food from donors’ homes and deliver it where it’s needed most.
For RCU, this partnership allows the credit union to extend its reach, accelerate activation, and build donation momentum quickly across multiple counties. ASG’s model has proven effective in other regions, but RCU’s involvement is helping expand it into North Bay and San Francisco communities at scale.
This collaboration reflects a growing trend among socially driven financial institutions—investing in sustainable, systems-based community solutions rather than one-time initiatives.
Beyond the Holiday Season: A Vision for Sustainable Change
Although the current food drive aligns with the holiday giving season, RCU emphasizes that this is not a short-term campaign. Rather, the credit union views the porch-to-pantry model as the beginning of a longer-term strategy for ongoing food support initiatives.
The program is designed to be:
- Replicable across surrounding counties
- Scalable depending on community participation levels
- Sustainable as volunteer and donor networks grow
In many ways, Redwood this initiative reframes the role of community members in fighting hunger. Instead of seeing hunger relief as the work of food banks alone, the model encourages neighbors to support one another directly, fostering a deeper sense of shared community responsibility.
Strengthening Community Ties Through Action
While financial institutions often play behind-the-scenes roles in community development, RCU’s program positions the organization at the center of grassroots mobilization. The Redwood initiative encourages people to take action at home—literally from their own doorsteps—turning goodwill into tangible, measurable support.
At a time when many individuals feel overwhelmed by widespread social and economic challenges, this model presents a simple, hopeful pathway to contribute.
By making the act of donating straightforward and meaningful, Redwood Credit Union and A Simple Gesture are not only helping address immediate hunger needs—they are building a stronger, more connected community.
Source link: https://www.businesswire.com
