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As communities continue to be hit by job losses and economic strain amid the COVID-19 crisis, local food banks become even more vital. The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation gave an unrestricted grant to Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services to help it meet increased demand during these unprecedented times. We spoke with Melanie Flood, director of development and communications for the food bank, to learn more about how they’re supporting the Sacramento community amid the pandemic.

How has the current COVID-19 crisis affected your operations and clients?

Before the crisis, we had 215,000 food insecure people in Sacramento County, and we were feeding approximately 150,000 of them per month through our own direct distributions and through 220 partner agencies. As demand has exploded for food access in our region, the current need for services has exceeded the emergency food network we have spent years building. We are finding as job losses in various industries continue to occur, the need for food has grown exponentially. We are being approached by many who have never had to utilize a food program in their lifetime. Of our 220 partner agencies, 145 have temporarily closed, leaving us to serve these growing numbers of hungry people in our community with fewer resources. The current number of people we are now serving per month has more than doubled to 300,000.

What changes have you had to make as a result of the pandemic and mandatory social distancing?

We’ve replaced our Produce for All distributions with touchless Mega Drive-Through & Walk-Up Distributions for the foreseeable future. We’ve partnered with various agencies, one of which is Paratransit, to ensure our seniors continue to have access to food. We’ve accepted support from many businesses, large and small, who have gone all-in during this time of crisis to – not only provide funding for us to purchase food but to – help make sure that the emergency food system we have put in place is sustainable well beyond this crisis.

We’re incredibly grateful for the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation’s support, as your generosity has helped us to scale up our operations and also helped provide more food for our remaining 75 partner agencies that are committed to staying open during this pandemic.

What advice do you have for other nonprofits struggling with the same challenges?

Remain committed to your mission.

Leverage the existing relationships you have by reminding partners of the good work they know you are doing.

Don’t be deterred, and remember that we will get through this as a community.

What do you most urgently need in terms of support, and how can people help?

Our most urgent need is for donations to provide food for our community. We need people to help us meet this increased demand for food. As it stands now, we are finding our resources stretched and we urgently recognize the need for our community to come together to help feed our neighbors. For every $1 given to our organization, we can provide five meals for a family.

If you would like to help, consider donating to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services.

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento City Unified School District is working with the Sacramento Food Bank, volunteers from the Sacramento Republic FC, and local chef Patrick Mulvaney to help address hunger in Sacramento

“Even through the most difficult times, our Sacramento community remains a beacon of light,” said Sacramento City Unified School District President Jessie Ryan. “It is inspiring to witness community members coming together to support our students during this unprecedented health crisis. We know that our students can’t thrive if they don’t have their basic needs met and that no child should go hungry. Thank you to the Sacramento Food Bank, Chef Patrick Mulvaney, our dedicated Nutrition Services staff, and the many community helpers who have stepped-up to feed our families.”

“Sac City Unified plays a critical role in nourishing minds and bodies in our community,” said Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jorge Aguilar. “Sac City Unified is proud to work with our community partners including the Sacramento Food Bank, Chef Patrick Mulvaney, and volunteers from Sac Republic to address hunger. The COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating an already significant need. Our students benefit and our community is stronger when we work together to provide meals that sustain our youth and our families.”

The Sacramento City Unified School District Nutrition Services Department continues to provide meal access for students affected by the school closures. Since the district’s schools were closed to help mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus, the district has provided more than 375,000 meals for students. The district will continue providing meals during Spring Break next week, handing out meals on Tuesday and Friday and continues to look for volunteers to help with this herculean effort.

The district was joined this week by the Sacramento Food Bank and volunteers from the Sac Republic FC who distributed 1,000 boxes of supplemental food to families at various district meal distribution sites. 

In addition, Patrick Mulvaney, head chef at Mulvaney’s B&L, passed out additional family meal kits at several of the sites this week. The supplemental family meal kits were prepared by restaurant staff at  Mulveney’s B&L. The meal kits can easily be cooked at home and serve up to four people. The meal kits are the result of a chef-driven initiative called “Family Meal,” a chef-driven initiative to put independent restaurants to work by creating and distributing meals for at-risk populations.

The founding members of the initiative in Sacramento are chefs from Canon, Mulvaney’s, Allora, Camden, and Binchoyaki, with guidance and support from Santana Diaz of UC Davis, and Rabbi David with Fresher Sacramento.

Volunteers from the Food Bank and the Family Meal initiative will continue to coordinate with Sac City Unified during the school closures to distribute meals and food boxes weekly at rotating meal service locations throughout the district.

Tens of thousands of people will be attending Run to Feed the Hungry this year’s Thanksgiving. In this Sacramento tradition, Run to Feed the Hungry will return to this year’s face-to-face event, but you can actually attend 5K or 10K. This event is the largest fundraiser for Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. According to the organizers, this is the country’s largest Thanksgiving fun run. If you’re attending this year, I’d love to know why. You can share the photos below and tweet or post your photos and videos to Instagram using the hashtag #RunToFeedTheHungry. Edit the gallery of other runners and walkers inspired to become active on Turkish Day (app users click here to submit photos).

Share your photo, tell us why you joined this year’s event Source link Share your photo, tell us why you joined this year’s event

The post Share your photo, tell us why you joined this year’s event appeared first on California News Times.

source https://californianewstimes.com/share-your-photo-tell-us-why-you-joined-this-years-event/601939/

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Welcome to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services wiki page.

Here is a brief summary of the Programs that we offer. We are so much more than food!

All programs Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services provides are offered free of charge to Sacramento residents. No financial information is required, but you must provide proof of residency when receiving services. Please click on any program below to learn more about the services offered, hours of operation, location and to review eligibility requirements per program (zip code, age, etc.) If one of SFBFS’ programs does not serve your area, please visit our Resource Central to search for other services in Sacramento.

• Food - Provides a five day supply of emergency, take-home groceries to thousands of clients every month. Individuals and families in need can receive fresh produce, dairy, grains and more at mobile distribution sites throughout the Sacramento area.
• Clothing - Distributes donated men’s, women’s and children’s clothing items to those in need at no charge. Clothing articles include suits for interviews, school uniforms and seasonal weather attire.
• Parent Education - Guides parents in raising children in a healthy and supportive manner. Diapers, formula, food and clothing are provided for parents attending educational workshops.
• Adult Education - Provides one-on-one instruction to adults in reading, writing, math, computer skills, resume building and English.
• Youth Education - Provides a safe, educational environment for children to explore technology, reading, communication and life skills. This program encourages academic success, character building, social development and community service.
• Senior - Connecting isolated seniors with volunteers through companionship and a monthly delivery of healthy groceries.

Volunteers

Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services depends on hardworking and dedicated volunteers throughout the year. Volunteers are the backbone of the organization, performing duties in all programs. 

Volunteers can help out in a variety of ways, including providing support to our distribution programs, bagging groceries, sorting clothing, mentoring new parents, tutoring elementary and high-school students, leading computer classes, supporting Adult Education courses, filing and administrative tasks, translating documents, event support and more.

Do you have any special skills, talents or knowledge to share? Consider volunteering for SFBFS. W e can use volunteers in so many different ways! 

Donations

Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services depends on the support of local donors to keep our programs running strong. SFBFS receives no government funding to help operate our organization If you are interested in becoming a supporter of SFBFS, please consider one of the following ways:

Thank you for supporting Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. You can help us serve more families in our community by making a financial contribution. Just $10 per month makes a big impact. You can donate right now online, mail in a check or drop off goods. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

Donate Online »
Click here to make a secure, online donation. One time and recurring monthly donations are available. You may also donate in honor of or in memory of a friend, relative, co-worker or loved one.

Donate through United Way »
If your company supports local charities through the California Capital Chapter Region, please consider making your contirubtion to SFBFS. SFBFS has been a certified United Way charity since 1994. 

Donate by Mail »
Please mail checks or money orders to:
Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services
3333 Third Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95817

In-kind Donations »
From Clothing to Food to Parent Education, each program creates a list of greatly needed items. Click here to peruse the lists.

HOST a DONATION DRIVE:

You can support Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) by hosting a donation drive to collect needed items at your office, church, community center or anywhere else you chose. Check out our current donation drives on our Web site.

Please visit our website: http://www.sacramentofoodbank.org/

Food banks are finding new ways to fight hunger in Arizona, even as the need has risen dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They’re expanding services to college students, partnering with small farmers to keep produce local and incorporating indigenous staples into tribal food boxes.

But the core mission of the Arizona Food Bank Network, which coordinates efforts between five regional food banks and nearly 1,000 food pantries, remains the same: eliminating hunger for the nearly one in seven Arizonans at risk of food insecurity.

Arizona Republic readers who support the Season for Sharing campaign help fund the Arizona Food Bank Network.

HOW TO DONATE: Make a gift to Season for Sharing here.

Last year, Season for Sharing raised $2.1 million and provided more than $205,000 in grants to organizations working to feed children and families, including:

• $45,000 to the Arizona Food Bank Network for programs that help children, seniors and other vulnerable populations so that all Arizonans have access to healthy food.

• $35,000 to St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance for meals to benefit low-income, food-insecure hungry children and adults.

• $30,000 to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to feed more than 11,000 food-insecure Arizonans nutritious daily meals, particularly in families with school-aged children.

• $10,000 to AZCEND for 12,000 food boxes.

• $7,500 to U.S.VETS – Phoenix for 70,000 meals and food boxes for homeless and at-risk veterans and families in Maricopa County.

“You realize how close so many families are to not meeting the most basic of needs, which is food,” said Angie Rodgers, president and CEO of the Arizona Food Bank Network, said. “Many of the folks we saw in food banks (during the pandemic) said, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever had to do this.’"

"That opened up a lot of opportunity to talk about the needs of our neighbors,” she added.

Phoenix residents Matt and Randi Scanlon and their two young boys were among the first-time families in need.

Matt was forced to close his recruiting business when jobs dried up, and Randi was out of work as a flight attendant.

They got by using food stamps and signing up their kids for free school breakfast and lunch.

“It was a lifesaver for us,” Randi, 45, said. “I didn’t think the rug could come out from underneath us. ... Things are fine, and then all of a sudden they aren’t.”

The $400 to $600 in food assistance per month allowed the Scanlons to afford occupational therapy and other medical expenses for the boys.

“I don’t know what we would have done without that,” Randi said.

Being in the middle class, the couple never thought they would need help, Matt said. Now he realizes anyone can find themselves in dire straits.

Demand for food assistance in Arizona more than doubled at the height of the pandemic to roughly 1 million individuals and families per month, according to the Arizona Food Bank Network.

“Programs like this need to exist,” Matt said. “It was huge.”

How to Donate to Season for Sharing

With the help of Republic readers, Season for Sharing has raised and given away more than $70 million to Arizona nonprofits during the last 28 years. Help us continue helping our neighbors in need.

5 ways to give

• Fill out the secure, online form at sharing.azcentral.com.

• Text “SHARING” to 91-999 and click on the link in the text message.

• Go online at facebook.com/seasonforsharing and look for the “DONATE HERE” post.

• Clip the coupon on Page 4A of The Arizona Republic, fill it out and mail it to P.O. Box 29250, Phoenix AZ 85038-9250.

• Scan the QR code with your smartphone camera, click on the link to donate.

Where does the money go?

When you give to Season for Sharing, you're helping nonprofits that support education, feed the hungry and help struggling families. The Republic pays all administrative costs, so 100% of donations go back to the community.

Consumer reporter Rebekah L. Sanders investigates issues of fraud and abuse involving businesses, health care and government agencies. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @RebekahLSanders.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Season for Sharing: Arizona food banks keep families from going hungry