Food providers receive new Town funding

Families in need got a boost from the Town Council at the
council’s October 20 meeting thanks to a round of funding for
hunger-relief focused non-profits.
The Town of Windsor allocated $88,812 to local non- profits at
the August 18 meeting as part of the Town’s annual system for
allocating money to community groups. However, the council
separated hunger related charities into a separate group and asked
staff to return with a proposal for funding food related aid.
The funding system has been in place since 1998 and distributes
money from the General Fund to support non-profits that directly
serve the Windsor community. Over time, the amount of money
allocated to community groups has declined and the council has
expressed a desire to continue funding for groups that have
received funds in the past while limiting funds for new
requests.
The Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB), Hope Chapel Windsor, Our
Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, and the Windsor Garden Club were
all new applicants to the town’s grant program, and all share a
goal of providing increased food access to those who most need it.
The town formed a subcommittee to evaluate the groups’ proposals
and after hearing from the groups on October 20, the town
eventually allocated about $10,000 for hunger relief.
Barbara Stevens from the Windsor Service Alliance, Windsor’s
local food pantry, said the organization was “surviving on nickels
and dimes” and said any funding received from the Town of Windsor
would go straight into securing food for Windsor residents.
“Anything extra we can put in the bag helps,” she said.
Windsor resident Jean Larson spoke on behalf of the Redwood
Empire Food Bank. “It’s really apparent how dedicated this council
is to improving the quality of life for people in Windsor and
feeding people who don’t have enough to eat is a really important
way that the quality of life for all of us can be improved in this
great town,”
She said additional funding from the Town could equal a couple
of extra tractor trailers worth of fresh produce for Windsor
residents.
The Windsor Garden Club acknowledged the difference between
their role as a food producer rather than distributor and asked the
council for money to help finish construction of growing plots in
the community garden. The community garden has set aside several
plots for low income families, provided free plots to other food
groups and organizes food donations of fresh produce from other
growers.
Mayor Sam Salmon said providing food was an important measure of
the community’s commitment to compassion. “It provides us some
safety in our community that we don’t have people that get to the
point where they really don’t have food. That can be a tragic
circumstance for a community. It’s a desperate situation in many
ways,” he said.
Councilwoman Cheryl Scholar voiced strong support for keeping
funding at the $15,000 level. “I’m personally uncomfortable that
there are children and families hungry in this community,” she
said. “I’d rather put money from events into ensuring that every
child and family doesn’t go to bed hungry.”
Several council members said they were loathe to commit funds to
new ongoing projects and said the council wouldn’t be able to
continue supporting non-profits to the level it historically has if
resources continue to decline.
Councilmember Steve Allen echoed the opinion of other
councilmembers when he said he would support the funding level but
with a caveat it did not constitute a precedent for future funding.
“People are really on the down and out,” he said. “Money that we
use to help people in the community has a very big impact on the
lives of people in the community. It helps police services, social
services. I would like to make it clear that very likely this would
be the only time I would do this.”