Community Action Services and Food Bank

Community Action Food Bank alleviates hunger by providing food/basic needs packages, counseling, budgeting, and referrals to other community services. The program povided food and basic needs packages to 10,646 unduplicated people. The food bank also provided food to over 90 community partner organizations for distribution to their low-income clients. The total pounds of food distributed was over 3.3 million pounds. The food bank operates several of its food pantries and four communitygardens. The expense includes the value of the donated food from community food drives, grocers, the food industry, farmers, and USDA commodities. Our Kids Nutrition Packs Program served 33,582 children weekly in low-income schools throughout our service area, pre-Covid.

The Family Development and Support Services Program provided a variety of direct services to help eligible households stabilize and work toward self-reliance. These services include: emergency shelter and/or rent help (1819), transportation assistance (189), case management, life skill training, goal setting, and more.

The Circles Initiative works to help families move out of generational poverty through training and matching them with highly trained community volunteers from the middle class. The participating families receive special training to help them overcome the barriers to escaping poverty. The Initiative also identifies and works on systemic barriers that keep people in poverty. In FY 2022, 5 families graduated from Circles, reaching an income of 200% of the federal poverty level.