The North Valley Community Foundation announces that, as uncertainty swirls around food assistance programs nationwide, it has opened the Food Insecurity Relief Fund, which will award grants to local food banks, starting with $20,000 to the North State Food Bank.
The North State Food Bank distributes food throughout an 8,000-square-mile service region encompassing Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Plumas and Sierra counties. Organizers say the new fund will also help many smaller food banks.
With the help of several donations and investment from NVCF, the Food Insecurity Relief Fund already contains $100,000.
Organizations with existing food pantries in Butte, Glenn, Colusa, Tehama and Plumas counties can apply for grants of between $500 and $1,500 through a brief application process to help replenish food supplies.
“While everyone acknowledges the government shutdown is political gamesmanship, we don’t want to stand by while a basic human need like food becomes part of the game,” said Alexa Benson-Valavanis, NVCF’s president and CEO. “Philanthropy can’t entirely replace what is lost, but it can help. Everything helps when you’re hungry and can’t afford to buy food. Anything is appreciated and together we can all make a difference.”
“We are deeply grateful to the community foundation for its generous grant to our North State Food Bank,” said Timothy Hawkins, CEO of the Community Action Agency of Butte County. “These funds will directly support the purchase and distribution of nutritious food to our 95 partner pantries serving Butte County and the surrounding region.
“This gift is a powerful reminder that when our communities come together to care for one another, we reveal the very best of our spirit. It’s through partnerships like this that we build a stronger, more compassionate north state.”
Benson-Valavanis encouraged people who already give directly to a food bank of choice to continue to do so, but the new NVCF fund will spread the donations.
She pointed out that food insecurity in the North Valley won’t disappear when the federal government shutdown ends.
“Food insecurity for our communities was a serious issue already, and will continue to be after SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits are restored,” she said. “People are getting left behind, particularly vulnerable populations like children, senior citizens and people with disabilities. This relief fund will help support the food pantries that exist, year-round, to provide food for those who need it most.”
Those interested can view the grant guidelines, apply and donate to the fund at nvcf.org/food-insecurity-relief.
