Last year, I shared why the Sacramento Region Community Foundation made one of the largest commitments in our history — a $1 million, three-year grant to Yolo Food Bank — and, more recently, how early results from our $150,000 partner agency purchasing grant were already showing what’s possible when you pair research with action.
A year in, the results from two of those grants are worth sharing.
Family Food Box Program
In Winters and Esparto, two rural Yolo County communities where food insecurity is high and access is limited, Yolo Food Bank set out to bring monthly food boxes directly to families through their school districts. They set a goal of400 families per month and hit it.
Over the course of year one, 400 households received a box of fresh produce and pantry staples every month — 200 families in Winters, 200 in Esparto — totaling 73,599 pounds of food. School staff and volunteers in both communities handled distributions, a partnership model that met families where they already were and built trust in the process.
Phoebe Girimonte, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services at Winters Joint Unified School District, put it plainly: “Each box contains healthy produce and pantry staples that provide a consistent source of nutrition and buffer against the reality of food insecurity.” She considers the program an essential element of her district’s efforts to create a safe and supportive school community.
In year two, the program will consolidate to a single drop-off location in Winters based on community feedback, a small adjustment that reflects the kind of listening that makes this work effective. Volunteer engagement will also be expanded.
Harvest Program
The Harvest Program was designed to grow Yolo Food Bank’s network of farm partners, increase gleaning events, and bring more locally grown produce into the food system, with a goal of 500,000 pounds over three years.
In year one alone, the program brought in 492,512 pounds.
To put that in perspective: the year before the Harvest Program launched, Yolo Food Bank received 200,052 pounds of produce from farms. This year, that number more than doubled and nearly hit the entire three-year target in twelve months! Yolo Food Bank hosted 53 gleaning events, surpassing both the year-one and year-two goals. Fifty-five new farm partners joined the network.
Yolo Food Bank also contracted with five local farms — including Durst Organic Growers, Rivergarden Farms, Alemaya Farms, Muller Ag, and Ogilvie-Wilson Farms — to grow crops specifically for Yolo Food Bank, including broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, okra, and more. An estimated 32,834 households received produce through the program to date, and 380 volunteers filled gleaning event slots, many of them connecting directly with the land and the farmers whose work feeds their neighbors.
The work continues. The Yolo Food Bank team is already planning ahead — literally, by seasons — to ensure contracted crops are planted in time for future harvests, and additional staffing support is being put in place to sustain the program’s momentum.
Food insecurity in Yolo County hasn’t gone away. But results like these show what becomes possible when philanthropic investment meets local expertise and community trust. We’re grateful to the donors whose generosity through our Impact Fund made this work possible, and to the Yolo Food Bank team for making the most of every dollar.
Make Your Impact
Support efforts like this with a gift to the Impact Fund. You can also join the Impact Collaborative, a network of people who care about this community and want to make a difference alongside others who feel the same.