SUMMER 2022:
HIGHLIGHTS & OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE
|
|
|
As part of California's ongoing efforts to reduce food insecurity and increase access to healthy foods, we are sending this newsletter with food bank highlights, volunteer opportunities, and other relevant information.
If you have any questions or would like to share something in the newsletter, please email us at cafooddrive@cdfa.ca.gov!
- CDFA Office of Farm to Fork Staff
|
|
 
Join the CA Association of Food Banks October 2 - 4, 2022, in Sacramento for the Food Access Conference to explore the underlying causes of hunger, how to increase access to food, and what steps can be taken toward creating a #HungerFreeCA.
Click here to learn more or register!
|
|
Photo Credit: Second Harvest Food Bank (Twitter: @SecondHarvestFB)
Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) is a large regional food bank in Orange County providing food for all who need it with a concentrated focus on its most vulnerable populations - children, working families, college students and seniors.
SHFB purchases nutritious food and shelf-stable items - and grows a portion of its own produce - for distribution through its Partner Network, which provides food at more than 250 locations throughout Orange County. This vital network includes houses of worship, school and college pantries, afterschool programs, Permanent School Pantries, senior centers, transitional housing facilities, soup kitchens and shelters for the unhoused.
This summer, through the CA Association of Food Bank's Farm to Family program, SHFB received fresh California strawberries to distribute! The Farm to Family program secures fresh produce grown in California fields to distribute to food banks across the state.
SHFB also has an upcoming event and invites the community to Walk to Feed OC on Sunday, September 11, 2022, at Tanaka Farms in Irvine, CA! This inaugural event will bring together people from all “walks” of life to help raise awareness about nutritional and food insecurity in Orange County.
Click here to learn more about SHFB's work!
|
|
Food for People, the official food bank for Humboldt County, first opened its doors in 1979 as a small food closet intent upon filling the void for emergency food assistance in Humboldt County. Food distribution grew steadily, and Food for People has since expanded to a 9,000-square-foot warehouse which includes a large walk-in cooler and two walk-in freezers.
Volunteers are essential in helping Food for People make sure that people in need have enough to eat. There are a variety of volunteer jobs to suit all types of skills and interests. If interested in volunteering, fill out a volunteer application form, and the Volunteer & Direct Services Manager will get in touch about attending an orientation to discuss volunteer opportunities and shifts that fit your schedule and interests.
Click here to learn more about how you can begin volunteering!
|
|
|
|
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joins USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack at the Yolo Food Bank
|
|
Last month, during a visit to the Yolo County Food Bank in Woodland, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has signed a cooperative agreement with California under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA).
LFPA is a program authorized through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which invested $400 million to make food more affordable for more Americans and help stabilize agricultural supply chains, with $43 million coming to California.
Through LFPA, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) will seek to purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers. CDSS will partner with CDFA, the California Department of Public Health, and the California Association of Food Banks to purchase food from local and underserved farmers throughout the state.
Click here to read the full article.
|
|
|
COUNTDOWN TO THE 2022 STATE EMPLOYEES FOOD DRIVE!
|
|
|
Two more months until the 2022 State Employees Food Drive begins during the holiday season!
If your agency needs to assign a new point of contact or has any updates regarding contact information for the 2022 food drive, please let us know at cafooddrive@cdfa.ca.gov.
|
|
If you or your department are donating, volunteering, or working with food banks, we would love to share your story in the next newsletter!
Please be sure to email photos of your department's work to cafooddrive@cdfa.ca.gov.
|
|
|
|
