A series of recent and upcoming budget blows to the Redwood Empire Food Bank here in the North Bay have left “the region’s largest hunger relief organization having to figure out how to make up the difference,” in the words of the Press Democrat. Most notably, Redwood Empire Food Bank officials halted all egg distributions last week — a strategic cost-cutting measure to “better steward economic resources” as their federal and state income shrinks and egg prices remain ridiculous.
Every day of the week, you can find crews from Redwood Empire Food Bank distributing groceries and other essential goods to those in need at hundreds of locations across Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties. (A full schedule of distribution times and locations is available on their website.) Trump and Musk’s federal cost-cutting spree first hit Redwood Empire about a week-and-a-half ago, in the form of $750,000, or 155,000 pounds, in suspended food shipments.
At the time, I reached out to the food bank’s head of communications, Rachelle Mesheau, asking how food distribution in our area might be affected by this federal decision. She said the cuts posed a huge obstacle, but seemed confident that Redwood would find ways to make up the difference. Rachelle sent me the following statement:
The federal cuts are indeed a significant challenge, as we were anticipating $700,000 worth of food over the next few months that will no longer be available to us. Despite this setback, we remain committed to providing food to our community in Healdsburg and the surrounding areas. While the cancellation… is disappointing, we are encouraged by the recent announcement of Section 32 bonus buys and are hopeful that the current administration will maintain and create safety net programs for food assistance, especially as more people than ever are seeking help.
This shift means we will need to acquire more food independently to maintain a balanced mix of nutritious offerings. The increased reliance on purchasing food is putting pressure on local markets and raising costs, which will necessitate additional support from donors to meet the growing need. With demand for food assistance rising due to inflation and reduced federal support, the challenge of addressing food insecurity is becoming more acute. Adjustments in our operations and increased fundraising efforts will be necessary to ensure we can continue providing sufficient and nutritious food to those in need, and we remain committed to serving our community effectively despite these challenges.
However! Soon after I spoke to Rachelle, the budget outlook became more dire — this time, thanks to impending state cuts — and food bank officials made the difficult decision to nix eggs, an important source of protein for many of the 140,000-plus locals fed by Redwood Empire.
So why is the state doing this? Here’s an explanation form Stocktonia, a local paper in Stockton: “For several years when the state had a record surplus, it devoted millions of additional dollars to a state program called CalFood that allows food banks to purchase from local farmers or food producers such as tortillerias. Those boosts gave food banks about $60 million a year through CalFood over the past three years; in the budget Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed for the fiscal year that starts in July, that funding would revert to $8 million.” So in other words, post-Covid relief funding has dried up, as it has for so many services.
And things could get worse before they get better. The North Bay Business Journal reports: “Also at risk is CalFresh, which serves as California’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal food assistance program for low-income households. SNAP is also in jeopardy, as Congress debates its fate and the next version of the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill.”
To help offset all this gouging, you can donate directly to the Redwood Empire Food Bank (or volunteer your time) via their website.
Note from Simone: This piece originally appeared in the weekly email newsletter I write for the Bohemian, called Wine Country Today. Subscribe here!
