After 56 years of supplying Berkeley and Albany residents with emergency groceries, the Berkeley Food Pantry closed on Jan. 31, 2026. The mission of the pantry according to their website was to provide “good, nutritious groceries, household items, and opportunities for learning and self-empowerment” for residents. The pantry closed after a failure in merging negotiations with the Berkeley Food Network.
In 1969, Berkeley Friends Church member Dorothy Noble opened what would become the Berkeley Food Pantry. Initially a small organization, the pantry was operated from Noble’s home before the relocation to the Berkeley Friends Church at 1600 Sacramento St. The pantry relied heavily on a team of volunteers whose jobs ranged from sorting and picking up food to raising funds for the pantry. “We could not do the work that we do without our volunteers. Every single part of our operations is really powered by volunteers,” Katie Greenwald, Senior Development Manager at the Berkeley Food Network, said. When the Berkeley Food Pantry opened, it recruited 13 regular volunteers; by the time it closed, the pantry had over 100 regular volunteers and three part-time workers.
Residents of Berkeley and Albany, as well as people who go to school or work there, could visit the pantry to get emergency groceries two times per month. This included frozen meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy, and bread. The Berkeley Food Pantry provided over 70,000 pounds of food per month, according to their website.
“A lot of people came to rely on it over the years, and they have some really incredibly dedicated volunteers who helped make sure that it was running through all of those years,” Greenwald said. As an official distribution site for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program, the pantry always had nutritious food options available to those in need. The pantry purchased food from the Alameda County Community Food Bank and other stores, in addition to receiving donations from community members and grocery stores.
Besides providing healthy, high-quality food to the community, the pantry also offered various necessities. “We had essentials like diapers, tampons, toothpaste, baby food, dog food. We even had fresh flowers sometimes,” Sara Brown, a volunteer at the pantry, said. Brown started volunteering for the pantry in October and was upset by its closure. “I was super sad because I just love being there, but more importantly, it meant that thousands of people weren't going to get the food they'd been getting each month,” Brown said.
In the summer, the pantry announced its merger with the Berkeley Food Network, an organization that aims to ensure access to healthy food through pantries, home deliveries, and food recovery. The relatively small pantry has seen an increase in demand, particularly due to the recent government shutdown that happened in November, which led to the delay of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that many Americans rely on. The pantry would continue its distributions while being managed by the Berkeley Food Network. In December, the organizations revealed that the merger fell through, and the Berkeley Food Pantry was going to close at the end of the year.
Throughout its years of serving the community, the pantry became a resource many depended on. Its closure has impacted the community and disrupted a familiar routine for many. According to the Berkeley Food Pantry website, over 2,000 Berkeley and Albany residents were served monthly by the pantry. That being said, efforts are being made to smooth the transition, and make it easier for the community to adjust. “We have welcomed all of those volunteers over to the Berkeley Food Network,” Greenwald said. “We're working to welcome all of them in, and find shifts that work for their schedules.”. The Berkeley Food Network also took over the pantry’s home deliveries in an effort to lessen the negative impact of the closure.
There are several ways for interested individuals to support the fight against food insecurity, with one of the most common ones being volunteering. Chloe Gill, a junior at Berkeley High School, planned an event where the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO) — a Jewish teen organization —volunteered at GLIDE, packaging silverware and making sandwiches. GLIDE is a food pantry, founded by philanthropist Lizzie Glide in 1929 in San Francisco. “I would definitely recommend it. I felt like it was a really meaningful experience, and I felt very fulfilled afterwards,” Gill said.
Other ways to help organizations combating food insecurity are food donations and money donations. “60 percent of our revenue comes from individual contributors in our community. So that means we really rely on every contribution that people can make to help keep our work going, whether it's five dollars or more,” Greenwald said.
People interested in helping the efforts to reopen the Berkeley Food Pantry can reach out to the team at [email protected]. Some volunteers have expressed interest in continuing the Berkeley Food Pantry’s work at a different location. Jeannette MacMillan, a volunteer at the food pantry prior to its closure, took the initiative, bringing together volunteers to try to reopen the pantry. Some progress has been made, and volunteers remain hopeful as they meet with different groups. “We're feeling optimistic, and we're definitely exploring possibilities because we believe in it,” Brown said.