Special to the Vanguard
Yolo Food Bank has delivered a terrific holiday gift to the community: an inspiring video capturing the daily efforts – big and small – of a driver and essential worker to advance food equity in Yolo County. The video is available now at https://youtu.be/QqFBvaaJpqA?t=1.
“Hungry for Heroes: A Day on the Frontlines” shares with viewers a typical day for Yolo Food Bank employee Isaiah Mora-Larscheid. Every day, Yolo Food Bank’s operations team has a front row seat to the challenges of battling food insecurity countywide. The organization recently adopted a refreshed mission statement, committing to durably increasing food and nutrition security by creating an equitable, sustainable local food 
system.
“Food equity means increasing access to food that’s both more nutritious and culturally appropriate for all Yolo County residents, regardless of where they live in the county,” explained Yolo Food Bank Executive Director Michael Bisch. “Isaiah’s story relates how large-scale and labor-intensive the work is to strive for food equity. However, thanks to our donors of funds, food, and time, Yolo Food Bank and our nonprofit partners are able to prioritize this concept and its potential to produce a healthier community where everyone truly has the opportunity to live their very best lives.”
Recently, Valley Vision issued the “2021 Sacramento Region Food System Action Plan,” which illuminates and supports Yolo Food Bank’s emphasis on food equity as the new year begins. Pandemic disruptions and the loss of related one-time government funding have combined to create crippling nutritional deficits for children, seniors, and families who were vulnerable and under-resourced to begin with.
The “Hungry for Heroes: A Day on the Frontlines” video also features several businesses and nonprofits countywide that currently partner with Yolo Food Bank to advance food security. Davis-based organizations include Nugget Markets, the ASUCD Pantry at UC Davis, and STEAC (Short Term Emergency Aid Committee), as well as Marguerite Montgomery Elementary School.
“We appreciate this partnership with Yolo Food Bank,” UC Davis Chancellor Gary May commented in the video. “Food insecurity is a big issue here on campus, that’s something we’re trying to eliminate.”
Honoring food equity for all Yolo County residents is a gift that keeps on giving this holiday season. Yolo Food Bank hopes that the video will motivate viewers to add neighbors in need to their gift list in these final days of the year, responding generously at yolofoodbank.org/give. To learn more about food access in Davis or countywide, please visit yolofoodbank.org/get-help.
