Special to the Vanguard
Woodland, CA. – Critical funding for the Yolo Food Back was approved on Tuesday by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors. $1.178 million will be funded through the American Rescue Plan (ARP).
YFB will use the money over two years for food purchases, staffing to support programs and operations, and transportation costs related to food delivery and recovery.
The funding is being allocated from a $3 million Food Security program established in September 2021 by the Board of Supervisors and funded by the ARP. The process of identifying funding recipients began in October 2021.
“The ARP funding will be hugely important in helping us to address the continued need across Yolo 
County for food-related support related to job loss, underemployment, and the COVD-19 crisis,” said Karen Baker, Yolo Food Bank interim executive director. “Yolo Food Bank has a long history of collaborating with the County to serve the community, and we’re very appreciative of its support.”
“The Board of Supervisors unanimously supported this allocation of federal American Rescue Plan COVID-19 relief funds to Yolo Food Bank and their hundreds of volunteers and nonprofit partners to combat food insecurity in our communities. I can think of no more important use of ARP funds than helping support this cause,” said Don Saylor, Yolo County District 2 Supervisor.
Yolo Food Bank is the lead organization in fighting food insecurity in Yolo County. As a Feeding America partner, it coordinates the recovery, collection, and storage of more than 10 million pounds of food annually from grocers and retailers, farmers, processors, and distributors. Through collaborations with the private sector, governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations, the food is provided to those in need through monthly distributions, local food pantries, senior meal delivery programs, migrant centers, college campuses, and healthcare facilities.
While I’m glad the food bank got this funding, the timing is questionable. The BOS took this action after Michael Bisch was terminated. The Sacramento Business Journal reported that the ARP funding was highlighted in a March 18 letter from the BOS to the YFB Board in which the BOS suggested the funding could be at risk unless the YFB Board terminated Michael Bisch. Per the article, the BOS declined to provide a comment to the SBJ.
The people who rely on the food bank for their food security deserve to hear from the BOS:
–Why did the BOS mention the funding in the March 18 letter if not to pressure the YFB Board to terminate Michael Bisch?
–Why was the BOS willing to hold federal funds hostage from such a vital organization when food insecurity is only rising?
Without answers to these questions, Don Saylor’s comment that he “can think of no more important use of ARP funds than helping support this cause” seems hollow.