Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor. The opinions expressed in this letter are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Mendocino Voice. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor feel free to write to info@mendovoice.com.
Dear Editor:
We at the Anderson Valley Food Bank were surprised at how large a portion of the funds for our food deliveries starts as federal funds. When the severe cuts to federal aid were proposed, we assumed that the state could step up and cover some of the shortfall, as was done during the Covid pandemic. However, the state is having budget problems and is not able to cover the difference. Now that the cuts are in place, the pipeline of food assistance is drying up.
We get two streams of aid: large amounts of produce and shelf-stable foods from USDA and smaller amounts of donations from local stores, farms, dairies and individuals. The first change we saw was the loss of most of our canned and dried staples, nearly all of which is funded by USDA. Our immediate supply partners, Mendocino Food Network, are only receiving a fraction of what had been provided to them previously. Their focus then moved to maintaining the supply of fresh produce and frozen proteins, which have had the steepest inflation rates — see eggs, for example.
I cannot tell you how appreciative I am of their work, in the most difficult circumstances, to continue to get us the supplies to help feed our 200-plus households. We have seen more items with a cost, especially the frozen foods, but nearly all that food is provided to us at no cost. We are a volunteer organization, so have no salaries to pay, but we do have overhead — insurance, rent and the like. The long-term picture is not reassuring.
So what is the way forward? After some deliberation the board decided to spend down some of our savings in the purchase of staples. We don’t have the resources to back-fill the void that the loss of USDA funds created, but in the short term we can help. As we must.
We welcome donations of both food and funds. Our website has a direct link to a donation page hosted by PayPal. We can only accept food drop-off on the days we have a food distribution scheduled — normally the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Please do not leave food at the distribution site any other day. We share the Grange with a host of other worthwhile local groups and need to be considerate of all. If you are able to donate larger amounts of food, as some local farms and ranches do, please use our phone and email contacts to set up a time that we can be there to receive them.
Our message to our community is simple — we must step up locally to help the less fortunate in our valley. It will take months, if not years, for the full impact of the brutal cuts in services and food assistance to show. We cannot “wait and see,” we must get ahead of the problem and fill the needs of our neighbors facing food insecurity. www.andersonvalleyfoodbank.org/ or andersonvalleyfoodbank@gmail.com; 707-397-0716
Greg Brunson, Vice President
Anderson Valley Food Bank Board
Many of our food banks here are low on food to help people out. Things have not gone good for Mendocino County and all the donations ever since the legalization of pot because they always took care of everybody when they have plenty of money but now we are all lacking into donations. Not just her food banks but I believe our schools and our programs. I wish you luck and we will pray for you as well as everyone else that has to deal with this.
Voting isn’t a game. It has real consequences to real people. To those who fought with all that they had for the year leading up to the election to prevent this, it’s unbearable to watch. There was nothing more we could have done as individuals to prevent this. So many Trump voters were dead set on taking away everything they could from those who have the least because they selfishly believed it would give them more. They act so surprised that not only did they not get more but, they also are getting less. The only people getting more are the billionaire class. With the Medicaid cuts, the medical system will have to triple prices or collapse. Hospitals still have to provide emergency services to those who lose their Medicaid. This means our health insurance and medical prices will skyrocket and we will have to pay what the Federal government isn’t. It’s pretty naïve to think that the state of California will just jump in with hundreds of billions to cover what the Trump administration is keeping. Yes, keeping. Who thinks like that? That’s childlike thinking. California taxpayers gives the Federal government 890 Billion dollars a year and now they are keeping it. They are not giving it back to fund services. This is exactly what Trump campaigned on. He is doing exactly what you voted for. You just thought if others got less, that meant you were going to get more. Your greed and selfishness made you blind. Wait! It’s going to get a thousand times worse. The Big Beautiful Bill you voted for hasn’t even begun to have an impact. You voted to defund our vital services like food, medical, fire, LEO and instead triple the military and ICE spending and relieve the wealthy from paying any taxes. This was a windfall to the wealthiest American’s and a kick in the face to every day workers. You won’t admit it. We know. We’ve been here before. The closest you’ll get is feigning like you were confused about what you voted for but, in the darkness, when you sit alone with your uncontrolled hatred and greed, you know. We all know and believe me, that is all we see in the Trump voters. You claim to be conservative but you push for and voted for trillions in new debt because you don’t care. You want the ICE budget to get all the black and brown people out because you think it means you get more. You don’t care about the trillions in new debt because you will be long dead and your grandchildren will be the ones suffering through its crippling effects when their kids can’t go to college and they can’t go to the doctor or buy a house. Relish in your hatred and greed these next four years as you salivate watching the ICE raids on your nightly news. Your day will come. You have been exposed for what you have pretended for decades not to be.