New Annual Campaign to Raise $175,000 This Fall for Food-Insecure Families, Children, Low-Income Seniors, and Mobility-Restricted Individuals
Special to the Vanguard
WOODLAND, CA) – This week, Yolo Food Bank (YFB) has launched “Yolo Gives & Gathers,” its annual fall campaign addressing food insecurity during the holiday season. This time of year is often a financially stressful time for many vulnerable community members.
“Current demand for food assistance is up 15% across Yolo Food Bank’s distributions,” said Karen Baker, executive director of Yolo Food Bank. She added that “during the holiday season and even into the new year, demand will grow even higher as budgets become tighter causing food insecurity to escalate. Our campaign will help ensure every food-insecure family in Yolo County experiences a nutritious holiday season with loved ones.”
During a time of continued high inflation and economic uncertainty, the amount of people needing food assistance has been on a steady increase since the beginning of this year. As a result, according to Baker, the organization has been having to make its food stretch farther, even if that means scaling back the amount of food per household in an effort to feed more people. YFB directly through its programs serves more than 12,500 households monthly currently and thousands more through its 64 nonprofit partners.
The campaign will run now through November 29. The lead sponsor for this campaign and YFB’s largest donor to date, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, has provided the organization with a $30,000 catalyst gift.
“There is nothing more sacred to Yocha Dehe than contributing to families in need,” said Yocha Dehe Tribal Chairman Anthony Roberts. “We value our longstanding relationship with the Food Bank and feel blessed to be in a position to help.”
Furthermore, to seed the “Yolo Gives & Gathers” campaign, Tom and Shelley Muller, former board members and longtime supporters of YFB, have contributed $15,000 in memory of Tom Muller’s late father Joseph Frank Muller, who passed away in September. The seed gift will kick off a memorial fund for YFB in honor of Joe’s lasting legacy of generosity. The memorial fund will directly contribute to “Yolo Gives & Gathers.”
“Tom and I are happy to grow the ‘Yolo Gives & Gathers’ campaign with a gift in memory and honor of Joe, who was passionate about growing food and believed in sustenance for all – during his career and then in retirement – spending countless volunteer hours distributing food to feed others, especially during the holiday season,” said Shelley Muller.
“We are tremendously grateful to Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and Tom and Shelley Muller for their generous gifts to this campaign” expressed Steven Loya, YFB’s senior director of development and communications. “We look forward to giving the gift of gathering to vulnerable Yolo County families – it takes the whole community to come together during difficult times, and we know the Yolo community is a generous one.”
The Yolo Gives & Gathers campaign will fund the following:
- More than 2,300 meal kits as part of YFB’s annual holiday food distributions;
- 1,300 special holiday meal kit boxes for low-income seniors and mobility-restricted individuals through their Eat Home Yolo program;
- 2,500 elementary school-aged children’s access to local, seasonal produce and nutrition education as part of their Kids Farmers Market program; and,
- Emergency pop-up distributions serving our most vulnerable residents across the county
