OAKLAND (KRON) — Rather than the usual bet between Mayors of opposing championship teams, Mayor Libby Schaaf is joining a bet between Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to promote a friendly fundraising competition supporting families in need.
“I’m excited to join the Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank in a spirited competition designed to bring awareness to the struggle faced by low income residents in our respective cities,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “All season long MVP caliber players like Stephen Curry and LeBron James have risen to the occasion when their teams needed them most. I am confident Bay Area residents, businesses, and our passionate Warriors fans are going to come thru in a big way for the 1 in 5 vulnerable Alameda County residents who rely on the food bank for their meals each day.”
The fan base that raises the most funds for its food bank by the end of the series will be declared winner, while the executive director of the food bank that raised less money has promised to don the opposing team’s apparel and post a congratulatory video on Facebook. Each Food Bank has set a goal of $5,000 for the challenge; however, there is no limit –
“Alameda County Community Food Bank is well supported by the Golden State Warriors and this is our chance to support them back publicly,” said Suzan Bateson, executive director of Alameda County Community Food Bank. “We would like to challenge you to a virtual food drive. Just like the Warriors, our Food Bank’s strength is in numbers. We think that our fans are going to raise more money than the fans of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.”
Both Cleveland and Oakland share proud, blue-collar roots and passionate sports fans to match. Unfortunately, however, the two cities share something else in common: they each have extremely high rates of food insecurity. Alameda County Community Food Bank serves 1 in 5 of its county residents, while Greater Cleveland Food Bank serves 1 in 6 residents in six counties throughout northeast Ohio. Collectively, the two food banks serve 885,000 people annually – enough to fill Oracle Arena (Warriors) and Quicken Loans Arena (Cavs) combined 22 times over.
Every dollar raised will remain local to provide healthy food to families in need living within each Food Bank’s respective service areas. For every $1 donated, Alameda County Community Food Bank can provide $6 worth of food. For the same donation, Greater Cleveland Food Bank provides 4 meals.