Michael Kraft
It would be difficult to think of a more indispensable organization in Humboldt—be it government, nonprofit or private sector—than Food For People. Most locals know of it.
However, here is something you might not think about: someone in your orbit either uses or has used the services of Food for People or one of their partner food pantries. Executive Director Carly Robbins says that approximately a quarter of their clients are seniors, and another quarter are children. Most of the rest work. Only about one in ten of their clients is unhoused.
Among the 21,000 folks served every month might be your aunt or my neighbors.
Food for People serves all of Humboldt County. They recently added services in Petrolia, Honeydew and Alderpoint. In 2024, the organization distributed some 2.4 million pounds of food, 60% of which community members donated and 37% of which was fresh produce. They packed thousands of Backpacks for Kids weekend food bags, a program entirely funded by the community, as opposed to tax dollars. They plan ahead for disasters, where food assistance will be needed on very short notice. They deliver to home-bound folks. They provide nutrition education. The list goes on.
Perhaps no local nonprofit makes more extensive use of volunteers. Some 300 people per month perform volunteer work for the organization. They are backed up by two dozen employees. To get started as a volunteer, click here: https://www.foodforpeople.org/volunteer.
I asked Carly what makes her get up in the morning, and she answered that it is working with this committed team. That motivation proves to be doubly required these days. Some federal budget cuts have already occurred, causing Food for People to limit new partnerships with Humboldt food providers, as well as providing less variety and quantity of food currently available. If other government cuts go through as planned, they will gut the key senior program. The core Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or as California calls it, CalFresh) also finds itself on the chopping block.
Running an organization always involves mundane issues as well. On the day I interviewed her, Carly was dealing with plumbers who were, in turn, dealing with a leaky water pipe behind Carly’s office wall. One may fight hunger for a living, but a first world problem that surprises you when you come to work in the morning remains a problem that must be dealt with.
Even with the higher levels of resources that existed in previous years, Food for People still left needs unmet. Carly estimates that 60% of Humboldt’s schoolchildren qualify for free and reduced meals, “and there’s no way we were reaching 60%” of kids with those backpacks. And too often, she says, our neighbors have to triangulate on whether to pay for food, rent or medicine because, for so many Humboldt County families, there’s just not enough money to go around.
In true Humboldt fashion, many businesses and local citizens step up. Recently, in response to the cut of funding to a program called Local Food Purchase Assistance, which provided funds to buy needed food from local farmers, local donors provided a $50,000 challenge grant, a dollar-for-dollar match for new donations to the program. Eventually, other donors from far and wide not only matched the full $50k, they more than double-matched it. As successful as this is, however, it did not (and really cannot) replace what government can provide. But it’s something, and something that qualifies as spectacularly generous.
Food For People’s mantra is “imagine a world without hunger.” If you want to join in and donate to this vision, and to this essential work, go here: https://www.foodforpeople.org/donate.
Michael Kraft writes the Good Work series, volunteering on behalf of the Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN). NorCAN supports connections between people and organizations that work every day to keep our communities healthy and strong by offering professional development, board support, networking connections and more. Learn more at https://norcal-nonprofits.org/. To nominate a deserving nonprofit organization to be profiled, email michael@kraftconsultants.com.
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