On March 13, 2025, Tipping Point published “Poverty in the Bay: Insights into Job and Demographic Disparities,” highlighting Bay Area poverty line trends among demographic and labor market characteristics:

“Poverty rates vary drastically by job sector and occupation. Bay Area households dependent on leisure and hospitality jobs (such as restaurant server, housekeeper, hotel manager, etc.) face a poverty rate of 27%. One in 4 restaurant and hospitality workers live in poverty. Latino residents disproportionately rely on high-poverty job occupations.”

Those are the demographics of those we serve: 53% of our clients are Hispanic. In February 2025, 126 new clients, all of whom were housed, came to Unity Kitchen to pick up meals for themselves and family members. SOS is committed to alleviating hunger by ensuring that all in our Sonoma Valley community have access to healthy meals and supportive services, especially during these challenging times with cuts to food banks and school lunch programs.

In the words of Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”

We at SOS cannot do our work without dedicated staff, committed volunteers, and a supportive community of local businesses, private foundations, civic groups, our partners in the nonprofit sector, and our individual donors.

We need your financial support now more than ever. Please consider making a monthly donation to meet our commitment to feed the hungry, unhoused, and food deprived in Sonoma Valley.

Gratefully,

Kathy King

Executive Director