Nonprofit CALL Primrose feeds San Mateo County’s hungry

The nonprofit, which is being honored at Burlingame’s Nov. 4 City Council meeting in honor of its 40th anniversary, is able to collect groceries in bulk and distribute them based on a choice model, with a rotating menu of fresh fruit and vegetables and stable dairy and protein items.

While food insecurity is no longer a hot topic like it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, that doesn’t mean a need for basic needs support is decreasing. In fact, it’s increasing, Boesch said, for a variety of reasons — many people haven’t recovered from the pandemic and are unable to afford the rising costs of rent, utilities, medical bills and groceries. In addition, there’s been a recent influx of Ukrainian and Russian refugees in the area, a result of the ongoing war.

“While the spotlight has come off hunger and food insecurity in our area, the need is greater than it’s ever been,” Boesch said.

Before the pandemic, CALL Primrose was likely to see around 40 families a day. During the pandemic, that number rose to 80, and after, it increased again to more than 100. The organization sees about 700-800 unique families each month and has around 3,000 active clients in its database, Boesch said.

CALL Primrose has a unique way of helping to feed those families, some of whom come in only once or twice a month and others who receive groceries every week. The nonprofit receives bulk product donations, the majority of which comes from Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.

It also participates in a grocery rescue program with major grocers like Safeway, “rescuing” groceries nearing their sell-by dates but are still usable. While shoppers might pass those items up in-store, they have many clients who welcome them, Boesch said.

By working with distributors, rather than individual donations, CALL Primrose is able to offer its clients a menu of grocery items to select from each day.

“That is a dignified and empowering way to provide groceries for folks,” Boesch said.

But that doesn’t mean individuals can’t help with the nonprofit’s mission — CALL Primrose accepts financial donations and has a team of around 35 in-person volunteers. In addition, it partners with community groups around the holidays to collect specialty items.

“We work with an organization that collects 550 of one thing for us. One organization collects stuffing, and another cranberry sauce,” Boesch said. “We are fortunate to have the support of our community in that way.”

When Boesch joined CALL Primrose 10 years ago, she leveraged her experience in the financial sector to create “more of a business model” for the organization, incorporating it as a nonprofit, hiring, rather than contracting, staff and constantly looking for ways to diversify grocery and funding sources.

“The need continues to grow. Definitely, there is a need for us to purchase more of what we provide to our clients. We do have increased funding needs but we are committed to finding ways,” she said. “Definitely, we do depend on our community. There’s small local grants we apply for … we’re always looking for other ways, knowing we can’t be reliant on any one source.”

The approaching holiday months can put community members in a giving mood, for which CALL Primrose is grateful, Boesch said. But food-insecure families and individuals are in need year-round, she emphasized — and they might not look how you expect.

“Hunger doesn’t look a certain way. It doesn’t look like what one may think it looks like,” she said. “Food insecurity is very real in our community. People that are working, people that are veterans, people that are retired. … It could be the people sitting next to you, or going to school with your children.”

CALL Primrose is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The nonprofit focuses on low-income families and individuals, including those who are in transition or currently homeless. It also provides services like a summer lunch program and grab-and-go meals, according to its website callprimrose.org.

Note to readers: A previous version of this story said CALL Primrose saw 40 families a week pre-pandemic. This story has been changed to reflect that the organization saw 40 families a day and now sees 100 families a day.