Sonora, CA — Unprecedented times are generating extraordinary responses to help fulfill the increasing demand on community food resources.
On Wednesday, Sonora Area Foundation (SAF) and the Mother Lode Food Project (MLFP) shared that the COVID-19 emergency has generated an elevated joint response, enabling them to provide a $30,000 donation to the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) Food Bank for fulfilling specific food supply needs.
As reported here, MLFP, organizes networks of neighborhood volunteers that buy and collect bags full of nonperisheable foods for bimonthly donation to the ATCAA Food Bank.
But due to the Stay At Home and social distancing orders, at its April food collection event, MLFP volunteers used their distinctive bright green bags to gather monetary donations. To date, MLFP has raised 201,839 pounds of food and $14,060 in cash.
So, SAF, through its recently established Community Recovery Fund (CRF) to address community needs in Tuolumne County through the COVID-19 crisis, bolstered those donations with a matching $15,000 grant.
SAF Executive Director Darrell Slocum notes that through the CRF, donations from the public of up to $300 per donor will be matched by SAF to address hunger and other needs being identified in the weeks and months ahead. Since it does not charge any administrative fees, 100 percent of donations will directly benefit community needs. For more details and to donate, click here. Slocum also addresses the effort in a blog posted here.
For more information on ways to support MLFP’s efforts, click here.