HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/5/2021 Item 3, Keisler
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Andrea Keisler <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Public Comment: HRC GIA 2021-22 Funding Recommendation: SLO Food Bank
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Dear Human Relations Commission Members:
On behalf of the community members we serve, our staff, and our volunteers, I would like to thank you for your funding
recommendation for the SLO Food Bank through the Grants in Aid program.
2020 was an unprecedented year in our thirty-two-year history, as it was for many organizations that provide basic
needs. At the SLO Food Bank we distributed 54% more food in 2020 than the year prior, increasing poundage from 3.3
million to 5.1 million pounds of food, both through our own direct food distribution programs and through our network
of 80 nonprofit member agencies, our partners in hunger relief.
While we saw these shocking increases to our overall operations, we saw even more dramatic increases in specific
programs, like our No Cook Bag Program. This program is designed to provide ready-to-eat, nutritious foods to
individuals experiencing homelessness and without access to cooking facilities. We make these bags of food available to
agencies--like TMHA and 40 Prado in SLO--who specifically serve this population. Countywide, in 2020 agency partners
distributed 21,770 No Cook Bags, up from 13,517 the previous year.
At the time we experienced this increased need for food in the community we also experienced a reduction in food
donations through corporate and household food drives and large-scale donations, which we historically used to
supplement our No Cook Bags. While we are starting to see some of these large-scale food donations return, we have
purchased more food than ever before in our history and continue to do so. This funding recommendation from the
HRC, if adopted, will help the SLO Food Bank continue to sustain the No Cook Bag program in the City of SLO and meet
the still increased need. It will also help us support our network of partners who provide critical services to community
members hardest hit by the pandemic.
Thank you, again, for your consideration and recommendation.
Sincerely,
Andrea
Andrea Keisler
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Director of Programs
akeisler@slofoodbank.org
Cell: (805) 369-9563
Office: (805) 238-4664
1180 Kendall Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
www.slofoodbank.org
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