The state launched a new program this week in which 128 farmers and ranchers are donating fresh produce to the state’s 41 food banks in 58 counties.
“We want to work with the farmers and connect them with the food banks to deliver nutritiously, high-quality locally produced poultry and dairy to those in need,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a remote press conference on Facebook Live.
The Farm to Family program came about after the COVID-19 outbreak caused fruits and vegetables to perish before being distributed and a spike in applications for food stamps and demand for free meals from food banks.
“We saw a COVID-19 outbreak in the Bay Area among workers in the food distribution center, which caused shortages in the produce area,” said Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation.
California accounts for some 50 percent of the $5 billion in estimated losses due to canceled or reduced specialty crop contracts, according to the Department of Agriculture.
“The food supply chain is strong but it’s not very flexible,” Johansson told the Southern California Record. “The question is how do we make it more flexible in terms of getting the proper quantities distributed.”
Like the unemployment rate, food banks have been hit particularly hard by the lack of distribution, showing a 73% increase in demand, according to the Department of Agriculture, while farmers are experiencing an estimated 50% reduction in demand and applications for food stamps through CalFresh surged by 140 percent the first three weeks of April 2020.
Some 3.7 million people have applied for unemployment benefits and $6 billion has been distributed, according to data provided by the governor’s office.
“This is jaw-dropping," Gov. Newsom told journalists at an April 29 press briefing. “Farmers and ranchers have excess produce and commodities that they cannot distribute and we have food banks that need items to meet an increase in demand. California is the breadbasket of the world. We will bridge the gap between supply and demand.”
Gov. Newsom also announced a new partnership that allows restaurants to rehire and keep food and delivery workers employed by preparing three meals a day and delivering them to senior citizens under a program called Restaurants Deliver: Home Meals for Seniors program.
“About 1.2 million seniors live alone,” Gov. Newsom said. “They are socially isolated, unable to cook their own meals or provide themselves the nutritional needs they deserve. This program is an opportunity that supports restaurants and the hospitality industry in rural parts of California as well that will connect restaurant meals with seniors and ensure they are okay."
The program will be administered locally according to eligibility requirements and organized by the Department of Aging.
“Local governments will be deciding which restaurants are eligible to participate,” Gov. Newsom said. “The state is providing 75% of 25% of the local government’s share in terms of cost. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pick up the rest of the bill.”
But Californians don’t have to depend on government programs or restaurants forever during future states of emergency, according to Marjory Wildcraft, CEO and founder of the Grow Network. Instead, they can become backyard farmers and grow their own food even in urban areas.
“With so many people becoming unemployed due to COVID-19, one family member can grow food for the rest of the family,” Wildcraft told the Southern California Record. “A person can grow half of their own food in a backyard-sized space or even a window sill in less than an hour per day.”
There are currently 450,000 members of Wildcraft’s Grow Network but since the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, she says membership has increased by some 10,000 new members weekly.
“The number of people growing their own food is on the rise because the price of food is becoming more and more expensive every day,” Wildcraft said in an interview. “Grocery store checkout lines will continue to be long but when you grow and eat your own food, you become self-reliant and healthier. I don’t have allergies anymore and I am hardly ever sick.”