A new program facilitates porch pick-ups for food donations, and the county Board of Supervisors are allocating emergency funds to Redwood Empire Food Bank. photo credit: Michelle MarquesRedwood Empire Food Bank trucks prepare to distribute food donations.
The government shutdown is halting distribution of CalFresh, California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.
In response, the county Board of Supervisors just approved up to $1-million in emergency support. It will go towards helping the Redwood Empire Food Bank feed the nearly 43-thousand people in Sonoma County who have lost CalFresh benefits this month. Supervisor Chris Coursey says there is a significant loss of benefits locally.
“People in Sonoma County average about $300 per recipient of the benefits,” said Coursey. “That amounts to about $8 million a month in food aid that has been halted to Sonoma County.”…