In a sign of just how acute the need is, however, proposals requesting the finite funds total $2.7 million — more than five times higher.

“That’s just how big the issue is,” Supervisor Adrienne Tissier said at a recent forum on hunger issues in San Mateo County.

But food isn’t the only service the county hopes to provide; money granted from the half-million dollars will go to a range of safety net services such as health care or financial and employment counseling.

Tissier shared the disparate ratio to illustrate just how much need exists for all services, but particularly those related to hunger — of the 48 proposals received, only 14 were non-food related, she said.

The grants are actually part of a bigger effort in which the county and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation jointly are distributing $1.5 million in grants to nonprofit groups. The county’s $500,000 contribution is only going to organizations in its borders while the foundation gives $1 million to food and shelter providers in both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The foundation’s grants will go to food and shelter services only.

Grant recipients will be announced June 30 with distribution of the money in July, said San Mateo County spokesman Marshall Wilson.

Wilson declined to release the names of applicants prior to the awards announcement.

Rebecca Salner of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation was unable to provide specifics on its applications by press time Friday but said need nearly always outweighs available grants.

The foundation previously awarded $3 million to 47 organizations in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in December. Some of the San Mateo County requests in the $2.7 million total may be covered with foundation money.

The half-million allocated by San Mateo County is part of the Economic Urgency Assistance Program approved by the Board of Supervisors in April. The county kicked off the program to help both it and nonprofits collaborate to squeeze the most use out of the precious dollars available instead of overlapping services. The goal is also to keep residents financially afloat before they need government safety nets like food stamps and unemployment assistance.

After the call for requests in May, County Manager David Boesch explained the hope is that the money will keep residents on the edge self-sufficient and protected from needing greater help later. The county augmented the grants with a specific area on its Web site devoted to helping the needy — particularly those unfamiliar with services and programs — navigate the right path to receive resources.

The demand for those is apparent and growing. San Mateo County’s self-sufficiency level is more than $75,000, or 349 percent of the $22,050 federal poverty level — a baseline a number of residents don’t reach. In January, the county’s food stamp program showed a 44 percent jump over the last year, with approximately 1,200 people requesting the service. Between March 2008 and March 2009, the county’s unemployment rate nearly doubled from 4.2 percent to 8.3 percent and is settled at 8.1 percent as of April. At the hunger issues forum attended by Tissier, a Santa Clara University professor who compiled a Hunger Index for the county revealed 63 million more meals are needed annually.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.