Salinas mayor asks community to help Food Bank

Picking up the pieces. The Food Bank for Monterey County continues to survey the damage from Saturday’s arson fire.

At the same time, they’re still helping to feed people in the county. They say the fire won’t stop them from serving people in the community. On Tuesday, they held an emergency food assistance event in Soledad. They’re working out of a temporary warehouse right now, and they’re hoping to get their facility fully functional next week.

They admit it’s a tall order, since the suspected arsonist caused half a million dollars in damage when the Food Bank’s four refrigerator trucks and dock were destroyed. While help is slowly coming in, even the mayor of Salinas is begging for people to help out.
“This is pretty devastating which means we probably have people not getting food because of this,” Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter said. “I beg of the community to reach and out help the food bank. This is a great opportunity. If some produce company has an extra refrigeration truck, call them up, I bet they can use it till they can get up and running.”

Mayor Gunter has reached out to other cities in the county to find a way to help out. Cal-Water is helping too. On Wednesday, the organization will present the Food Bank with a $10,000 check.

There’s also a fundraiser for the Food Bank planned this week. It’ll be at the Hofsas House in Carmel on Thursday. All proceeds will go to the Food Bank. For reservations, call (831) 624-2745.