Siskiyou Food Assistance

NEW THIS YEAR!

HELP US CREATE AND BUILD OUR
 "NOURISHMENT FUND"

Background:

A DROP IN THE BUCKET

Partner with us to supply the nutritional needs of those who could use your support!

Every month Siskiyou Food Assistance serves more people and families than ever before...and every month there is a shortage of nutritious foods to fill the gap in the nutritional needs of these folks. The local hunger picture has many different images: domestic violence victims, single-parent families trying to make ends meet, those coping with job loss facing food needs never experienced before, seniors on fixed income who have to choose between rent, utilities, medication…or food, people on disability, families facing unexpected hardships.  Sometimes we wonder “there but for the grace of God go I”!!

80% of "in-kind" food donations have, at best, poor nutrition content. Imagine 80% of the food we dispense to be nourishing and only 20% junk food or imagine no junk at all!  

The SFA board, staff and volunteers appreciate the importance of real nutrition and are aware that our nation faces a major health epidemic fueled by overly processed sugary and chemical-laden foods. According to the NIH over 75% of diseases are preventable through diet and lifestyle , possibly closer to 90%. We know that processed food can cause damage to the body and it’s no secret that a lot of our current clients have compromised health. These clients really need less junk and more wholesome, nourishing foods.

If we only put nutritious food on our shelves based on current donations and available budget, the shelves would be very empty.

There simply isn’t enough money in the monthly budget to go out and purchase the wholesome foods that are needed, which is part of the reason we rely so much on the store donations.

Our Proposed Solution: We are looking for financial partners to hold a strong vision for a healthier future for those we serve by establishing and seeding a $10,000 "Nourishment Fund", that would free up SFA's cash flow issues and allow our staff to make the purchases needed to provide wholesome foods. We hope you will join us!

The North State Giving Tuesday event is a major source of revenue for SFA to meet the increased costs of food and fuel for weekly distributions and to support our outreach efforts in nutrition education for the public.

Did you know that SFA aims to provide nutritious options where clients can choose from a “pick list” of available items rather than simply receiving a bag of random shelf items from the pantry? This makes for LESS WASTE and gives direct feedback to us on items most needed by clients. With your donations, we can offer more selections and healthier, nutritious choices.

We rely on the support of individuals, churches, businesses, volunteers and caring individuals. You might be surprised to learn that in the past year, SFA has distributed 4,000 services to families and individuals in eight south Siskiyou County communities. 59% of our clients reside in Weed, 6.5% in Dunsmuir, 4.4% McCloud, 29% in Mt. Shasta, 1% in Edgewood, <1% in Lake Shastina, <1% in Big Springs, 5% in Gazelle, <1% in Grenada, and <1% in Carrick Addition.

As part of our vision to reduce the dependence on assistance programs in our region, SFA has secured grant funding to bring a financial literacy curriculum to local high schools and partnered with Morning Seed Garden, a health ministry garden project to inspire friends, neighbors and community to grow their own food in small spaces. Fresh vegetables harvested from this garden are made available to our pantry for distribution as yield permits.

New this past summer we launched an 8-Week Hands-On Workshop on "Family Food Security Storage and Prep" with a weekly average of 15 attendees who learned how to purchase and prepare affordable, healthy food for themselves and their families at home.

The food we distribute comes from a variety of sources beyond that of our direct purchases made with your cash donations. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints donates a significant amount of non-perishable canned foods. We are grateful for several annual food drives sponsored by local businesses and organizations. Keep an eye out for them to make it easy for you to donate canned food that we will get to those in need. Seasonal garden yields and fruit tree gleaning also contribute to nutritious options for our clients.

We are grateful to the Weed Union Elementary School District for our Pantry location. With a long-term agreement now in place, we can be assured to use their annex building as our office and location for food distribution at a very low cost for the foreseeable future.

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Please help us with a donation to continue this incredible journey! Thank you!