Success Stories
The County of San Mateo offers retired surplus property at no cost to County departments, cities, schools, and certified 501(c) non-profit organizations. During large-scale departmentwide moves, the Surplus Property Program collaborates with departments to maximize the redistribution and donation of surplus equipment by hosting “Shopping Days,” where organizations can pick up items directly from the site. To ensure surplus items are put to their best use, we also conduct targeted outreach to specific communities and organizations based on the type of items available.
In 2025, the Surplus Property Program partnered with the County’s Department of Housing to redistribute materials from Ramada Hotel, a 45-room hotel in South San Francisco purchased by the County to serve as a housing shelter. This facility provides safe temporary living accommodations and intensive on-site support services to assist people experiencing homelessness with finding and moving into permanent housing. The hotel came fully equipped with items such as beds, dressers, and linens. These items were made available through the Surplus Property Program to benefit the broader community.
Outreach was conducted to Core Service Agencies- organizations that provide critical safety net services, including food, emergency housing, utility assistance, shelter, and other basic needs—as well as to San Mateo County non-profits, schools, and cities. Over 857 items were donated (an 84.6% reuse rate), offering essential support to local organizations while diverting usable materials from landfills.
In 2023, the Surplus Property Program collaborated with the County’s Health Department to redistribute surplus supplies like furniture, office supplies, and appliances generated from the decommissioning of two buildings at the San Mateo Medical Center.
Our efforts successfully led to the redistribution of supplies to 10 County departments and 55 schools and community-based organizations within the County. From the first building, 1,167 items were repurposed across 9 shopping days in May and June. From the second building, an additional 517 items were reused during 5 shopping days in July.
This effort diverted thousands of items from the landfill and provided valuable resources to community organizations. Together, we turned surplus into opportunity!
Organizations Receiving Donated Surplus Equipment
Fixit Clinics are fun community-based workshops where neighbors, friends, and families work collectively to learn how to repair broken items. We’ll provide a workspace, specialty tools, and volunteer Fixit Coaches to help you troubleshoot and provide routine maintenance to your household items and appliances! Register at https://bit.ly/itemcheckin.
Interested in being a Fixit Coach?
It’s easy! Provide participants with 1) guidance on tools and 2) encouragement to investigate their broken item. Let them talk about how they used it and how it broke. That often provides valuable hints as to what’s wrong. See how much you can do without actually handling the item. Empower the item’s owner to do the troubleshooting and disassembly. Register to be a Fixit Coach here.
This event is hosted in partnership with the San Mateo County Libraries.
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