Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB) is a food bank on the North Coast of California which belongs to the Feeding America network. Its mission is to end hunger in its community.
Founded in 1987, REFB is Sonoma County's largest hunger-relief organization, serving 133 charitable organizations, including emergency food pantries/closets, shelters and dining rooms, childcare centers/youth programs, group homes, and disaster relief agencies. Seniors, children, and working families come to food distributions seeking supplemental groceries. REFB serves 60,000 people on a monthly basis. During fiscal year 2007-2008, REFB distributed 10,750,000 pounds (4,880,000 kg) of food, the equivalent of 8.4 million meals, or 23,000 per day.
REFB acquires food and distributes it through a network of charitable agencies and its own food assistance programs and also provides food to Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties through smaller food banks. In addition, the REFB advocates for legislation to provide long-term solutions to hunger in its community.
The food bank distributes nearly $4.00 (wholesale value) worth of food for every $1 it spends.[1]
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The Agency Shopping Program provides food to 133 member charities that operate 22 programs serving people in need. REFB also operates its own programs: Child's Portion, Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) for children and seniors, Senior Brown Bag, Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) for people of any age, Community Pantry Network, Backpack Program, and the Every Child, Every Day - Summer Hunger Initiative. The newest program of the REFB is The Megan Furth Harvest Pantry, that delivers nutritious food and education to hungry and anemic children. The REFB is also conducting a pilot project to address the needs of low-income seniors living with diabetes, the Senior Diabetes Wellness Project.
The food bank's 2007 holiday food drive set a goal to collect 200,000 pounds (90,000 kg) of food and $160,000.[2]
Over 5,000 individuals volunteered 70,000 hours in 2007-2008, packing and sorting food, doing clerical tasks, driving trucks to pick up and deliver food, participating in special projects such as food drives and special events, and sharing their technological expertise. These volunteers filled the equivalent of more than 33 full-time staff positions.
Organized as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity, the food bank reported total revenue of over $12 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006. Of this, less than $390,000 came from government grants.[3]
Member agencies contribute toward the cost of transporting and handling the food through shared maintenance fees for some of the food they select, which contribute nearly 10% of REFB's budget.