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After serving the community for more than 50 years, the South Hayward Parish Food Pantry will cease operations on Friday
Hallie Hottle, senior pastor for First Presbyterian Church of Hayward, told Bay Area News Group on Tuesday that the organization’s homeless shelter services and aging facilities forced the church to stop food distribution
“The numbers overall in the county don’t look like unhoused homelessness is increasing, but our experience is that in the past year or year and a half, more people need a place to stay but can’t fit in,” Hottle said. “We can’t physically create more space, but we’re trying to create more services during the day to get more people housed more quickly so that we can open up more space for people to stay that are waiting in line.”
Hottle said her organization has served more than 43,000 people since 2019, when the church moved to a building on Patrick Avenue owned by First Presbyterian Church of San Francisco. On average, Hottle said, the pantry serves about 700 people per week, which includes individuals who bring food home to a larger household
About 50 years ago, the property served homeless residents as the Westminster Hills Community Outreach Center, she said
“It just really has been a hub for food but also other connections and services for help for this community,” Hottle said. “The loss of it is something we are grieving in this season.”
With about 165 members, First Presbyterian Church of Hayward continues to operate as a shelter and a church, but Hottle said the food distribution void they leave behind will need to be filled by another organization
Its shelter has a capacity of about 25 residents, Hottle said. According to recent counts, Alameda County’s homeless population fell 13% since 2024, with more than 8,000 people currently experiencing homelessness. In Hayward, the city’s homeless population fell from 512 residents in January 2024 to 404 residents in January 2026
But Hottle said the needs of homeless and other vulnerable residents, especially in the areas surrounding her congregation, is only increasing
“Homelessness is an issue everywhere, but it’s particularly visible in that area that we are in,” Hottle said. “The community is going to need some more folks to step up and do food distribution.”
The pantry’s final food distributions at 27287 Patrick Ave. will be from 1-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday
