Food Pantry

Our pantry distributes more than 22,000 bags of groceries to over 350 households each week. Pantry clients receive bountiful fresh and nutritious produce, thanks to partners such as the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Extrafood.org, and Ritter Center’s volunteers, generous community donors, and faith-based group collections including Saint Anselm Church.
Our food pantry provides pre-assembled pantry bags.
Food Pantry Hours (temporary hours as of Sept 2023)
We are currently operating with reduced open hours due to staff shortages. Our Food Pantry is open on the following days and times:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday: 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (closed 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. for lunch)
CLOSED Thursdays.
Food Insecurity and Women
Food insecurity has been a public health crisis in many parts of the world for years, and hunger is worsening with the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to gender inequality and the unfair treatment of women and girls, women around the world are disproportionately responsible for providing food for their families and also tend to eat last and least.

Unpartnered women are much more likely than unpartnered men to be responsible for dependent minors under their care, meaning that women often have more mouths to feed with similar or decreased resources compared to men.
The stress of rising hunger and food shortages affects women in other ways as well, including mental illness and domestic violence. In light of these hardships, many women are forced to fall back on risky behaviors such as sex work to feed themselves and their families.
The need for sustenance and breaking bread with others in community is universal. Often people come to Ritter Center because they need assistance to put food on the table and to stretch their budget. We start a partnership. Although it may start with food from our pantry, this connection spills over into other things such as access to income, health benefits, and other services. This leads to new beginnings.