Big donation for the Food Bank for Monterey County

A big donation for the Food Bank for Monterey County days after a suspected arsonist caused more than half a million dollars in damage.

“I’m proud to announce that it’s over $432,000 that we are granting collectively to the Food Bank so that it can become operational,” Dan Baldwin, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Monterey County said.

That money collected by at least eight organizations keeps growing by the day. Much of the generosity comes from the Community Foundation for Monterey County, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, First 5 Monterey County, Harden Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, Pebble Beach Company Foundation and United Way Monterey County.

“This gives us peace of mind that we can go out now and we can put this Food Bank together immediately,” Melissa Kendrick, executive director of the Food Bank for Monterey County said.

That means replacing the trucks destroyed in the fire, repairing the refrigerator and the docks. Most important, replenishing the food supply that goes to feed anywhere between 15-20 percent of the county.

“It’s senior citizens,” Mary Adams, president and CEO of United Way Monterey County explained, “Many who own their own homes but who have such little income coming in, they can’t afford to buy food. And about half of the people that get help from the Food Bank have at least one person in the family that’s working. Also, we know that there are many, many people in the military services that need help from the Food Bank.”

The Food Bank says emergency food assistance programs are still happening across the county.

“We are doing the senior markets this week,” Kendrick said, “The family markets next week.”

The Food Bank hopes to be fully operational by next week, even though they still aren’t taking food donations right now. Until then, some local food pantries like the Chinatown-based Victory Mission are going at it alone.

“We have had to purchase eggs, potatoes, breakfast meats, pork and beef,” Wayne Ross said. “But we haven’t really been hit hard. We’ve been able to bless other agencies, referred to us from the Food Bank.

The one hiccup the Food Bank could face is whether they need permits to repair the docks. Kendrick hopes to expedite the process and resume operations as soon as possible.

To find out how you can help the Food Bank for Monterey County, click here.