The PG&E Corporation Foundation announces that it is providing $775,000 to food banks, Meals on Wheels programs, and tribal organizations to help feed individuals and families struggling with food insecurity. This includes contributions to two organizations that serve Plumas County: $56,190 went to the North State Food Bank and $10,840 went to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.
The total contribution is the equivalent of approximately 3.87 million meals for individuals and families in need. The funding will support 13 food banks serving 16 counties in Pacific Gas and Electric’s North Valley and Sierra Region. Although California produces nearly half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, on average one in five residents — about 8 million people — don’t know where their next meal will come from, according to the California Association of Food Banks. Communities of color face even greater levels of hunger. In PG&E’s North Valley and Sierra Region, organizations received contributions from PG&E totaling $234,835.
“We’re so grateful for local food banks and food distribution organizations for their ongoing work fighting hunger in our hometowns,” said Joe Wilson, PG&E’s North Valley and Sierra regional vice president. “Thanks to all of our partners for their unwavering dedication to providing a necessary and critical safety net and helping families put food on their tables.”
Grant amounts consider county poverty and unemployment levels, using the California Department of Social Services’s formula, to promote equity among counties with higher need. “PG&E’s generous donation will allow CAA Butte’s North State Food Bank to leverage additional resources and expand our capacity enough to double the amount of food we provide to our extensive network of food panties in Butte and surrounding counties,” said Timothy Hawkins, chief executive officer of Community Action Agency of Butte County and North State Food Bank. “Community collaborations like these are key to improving the economic security and wellbeing of our struggling neighbors, creating more opportunity for everyone to thrive, achieve and enjoy life. Together we are helping people and changing lives.”
Supporting Food ACCESS
In addition to grants to local food distribution organizations, the PG&E Foundation is supporting next year’s California Association of Food Banks’ Food ACCESS conference in Sacramento. The mid-May event brings together stakeholders in food and health-hunger relief services focused on an equitable statewide safety net and ending hunger in California. The PG&E Foundation and PG&E have been long-time supporters of CAFB and county food banks, together contributing more than $4 million over the past five years.
“While the pandemic may be behind us, food banks continue to respond to an ongoing hunger crisis and we are grateful to PG&E for their continued partnership with us and our member food banks when it’s needed most,” said Stacia Levenfeld, chief executive officer of CAFB. “We are excited for PG&E to again be the presenting sponsor of our Food ACCESS conference and grateful that their support will establish scholarships, better enabling attendance by smaller food banks. We believe access to food is a basic human right and, collectively, we will explore and address ways to make that right a reality for all Californians at Food ACCESS 2024.”
Pacific Gas and Electric Company serves more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/. The PG&E Corporation Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, separate from PG&E and sponsored by PG&E Corporation.
Information submitted by PG&E Corporation Foundation
