Redwood Empire Food Bank

I am:

a child
a senior citizen
a single mother
disabled
temporarily unemployed

You:

pass me on the street
work with me
sit next to me in church
are my friend and neighbor

often struggle to pay rent and feed my family
sometimes go to bed hungry
live in poverty with limited opportunity or hope - except for the Redwood Empire Food Bank

Children make up the largest group of those at risk of hunger in our community. There are 9,762 children living in poverty in Sonoma County according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Presently, 37% of those receiving food assistance from the REFB are children.

Seniors living on fixed incomes represent another large segment of the population we serve. For 61.4% of our senior clients, Social Security is their primary source of income.

Disabled Individuals, many living solely on supplemental security income, are faced with limited opportunities to improve their economic well-being. Our disabled clientele live with the threat of hunger constantly.

Working Poor who earn minimum wage often must sacrifice food to pay bills. Currently, it takes 3 full-time jobs to afford the average 2 bedroom apartment in Sonoma County.

Hunger Study shows 1 in 8 Americans receiving emergency food-assistance

Hunger in America 2010, released February 2, 2010, reveals that an unprecedented number of Americans are seeking food nationwide. More than 37 million people - including 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors - are receiving emergency food each year through the Feeding America network.

The numbers represent a 46 percent increase since Feeding America's last study, released in 2006.

At the Redwood Empire Food Bank, the increase in supplemental food assistance has also been pronounced, rising 20% each year for the past 2 years. We are currently analyzing the 300 pages of data concerning Sonoma County which was collected during this comprehensive, 3 month study and expect to release the results in March.

Read the Hunger in America 2010 Executive Summary (PDF 1,125KB)