Ventura County Board of Supervisors recognize September as Hunger Action Month

Sept. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- (VENTURA, Calif.) – FOOD Share’s President and CEO Bonnie Weigel and its Board of Directors, volunteers and agricultural leaders were honored at a proclamation ceremony by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 24. The Board‘s proclamation declared September as Hunger Action Month, and individual Supervisors personally thanked FOOD Share for its tireless efforts to help alleviate hunger.

“We are grateful for this recognition for the work we do to help serve more than 18,500 families,” Weigel said at the ceremony, part of the Board of Supervisor’s meeting. “Our fastest-growing area of need is our senior community and this epidemic that is happening nationwide has been referred to as the ‘Senior Tsunami.’ About 7,575 seniors in Ventura County are food insecure and it’s certainly not okay for these people to have to sacrifice food for other necessities.

FOOD Share has fostered valuable partnerships with corporations, small businesses and regional agricultural leaders and growers to help meet this increasing need.

“We are proud to share that the agricultural community has donated more than 7.5 million pounds of healthy food to FOOD Share last year,” stated Henry Gonzales, Ventura County agricultural commissioner. “We hope to continue on this path so we can help close the gap for families who struggle.”

According to the latest Map the Meal Gap study by Feeding America, more than 102,000 people in Ventura County – about 12.6 percent of the county’s total population – are food insecure; but each month only 74,500 people seek FOOD Share’s assistance.

“The work you do is inspiring to see how a non-profit is able to bring people together to help others,” said Peter Foy, chairman of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. “FOOD Share does an incredible job doing this and we want to do our best to support your efforts to keep shelves full of food year-round.”

About FOOD Share:

The food bank that distributes millions of pounds of food each year to those in need throughout Ventura County, FOOD Share collects and receives food year-round, distributing through more than 162 pantry partner agencies throughout Ventura County, including Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Oak View, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Somis, Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

FOOD Share provides food to more than 74,500 people each month countywide through its partner agencies and multiple programs. Programs include the Senior Brown Bag that provides supplemental nutrition to nearly 2,000 low income seniors, home delivered meals and supplemental groceries through the Oxnard and Ventura Senior Nutrition Programs and, the Kids’ Farmers’ Markets, offering nutrition education, healthy recipe preparation and taste testing and a farmers’ market free fresh produce “shopping experience.”

In 2011, FOOD Share partnered with Ventura County’s Human Services Agency to provide expanded CalFresh enrollment assistance. CalFresh, formerly called food stamps, is the largest federal nutrition assistance program that provides supplemental nutrition assistance to eligible Ventura County residents.

In May 2013, FOOD Share established a partnership with Southern California Gas to further expand and support the hungry individuals the food bank serves.  The Southern California Gas CARE Program provides a further source of support to individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet.  The CARE program provides relief through discounted gas utility bills for individuals and families.

For more information: call (805) 983-7100 or go to http://www.foodshare.com.