By Dave Banathy
California produces an abundance of food, enough to export and feed people in other countries. Yet the paradox is an increasing number of people are experiencing food insecurity in our own country, especially in rural areas like Chico and the North State. This complex problem was the motivation for three local people to start the Chico Food Project, a community-driven volunteer organization to combat food insecurity in Chico. The project was founded in October, 2012 by Francine Kenkel, Wendy Smith, and Elena Carmon who were inspired by the “A Simple Gesture” program in Paradise and a roadside billboard on the Skyway stating, “One in seven children go to bed hungry.” Francine Kenkel remembers “I thought that was wrong. Like that can’t be right in Butte County…and now that number has even gone up.”
Combating food insecurity requires a well-orchestrated, collaborative effort by many people and organizations. CFP is one of a small number of groups that actually collects the food, then hands it over to food pantries that have made requests. The pantries then have their own system and schedules to distribute the food to those in need. Kenkel explains the need for the CFP’s efforts: “There’s a lot more hungry people out there than you’d ever think, and it’s just shocking when you see some of the statistics. Fourteen million children in the United States are food insecure … 90% of those are in rural America, so that’s… us.” The project’s most recent collection in April of this year yielded “close to 16,000 pounds of food…We’re just trying to fill a hole. We can’t do it all, but we’re just trying to be part of the solution.”
There were challenges in the beginning. Kenkel recalls thinking “how do we get this [food] to families, because we sure had no means. We could collect all the food we wanted, but we had no way to give it out.” Then she remembers hearing about the Chico Community Food Locker, and that they were running out of food. After contacting the food locker and convincing them to stay open on Saturdays to receive their collected food bags, CFP was up and running.
Today, the CFP operates as a neighborhood food collection program, ensuring a steady supply of non-perishable food items to local food pantries. Over the past 13 years, it has coordinated a dedicated network of 75 volunteers, mappers and drivers, plus approximately 1,200 food donors, providing essential food support to those in need, according to Kenkel. Since the beginning, the CFP has grown from mainly focusing services within Chico, to recently expanding to include Durham and further to meet the need in Butte County with “44 donation food pickup routes serviced by designated volunteer drivers and navigators.”
Kenkel explains that it’s easy to be a food donor, just sign up on their website. The donor is then issued a grocery-size blue bag and a schedule of pick-up dates. “So, I mean, what could be easier? They don’t have to do anything except just purchase a couple of cans, extra food when they go to the grocery store,” she says.
The CFP follows a simple yet effective model. The blue bags not only have a pick-up schedule attached, but also a list of the most requested food items. There are occasional requests for specific items during holidays or seasonal needs. Every two months, on the second Saturday of even-numbered months, the all-volunteer crew collect the filled blue bags from donors’ doorsteps and replace them with new empty ones, ensuring a continuous cycle of food donations to help those in need.
Kenkel’s praise for their crew includes logistics coordinated by a few key volunteers including Bob Irvine who acts as the computer and “Mapping Supervisor”. Irvine leads a specialized team of volunteer “mappers” to create the 44 routes with accompanying driving directions. Kenkel beams “drivers don’t give up their routes easily. They just like doing it so much that they become permanent…We have some drivers that have been with us since 2012 when we first started.”
On the collection Saturday, volunteers have delivered a large supply of new, empty blue bags to the parking lot of a local church, the staging area for the entire operation. Drivers take the new bags on their routes. Kenkel observes “They’ll pick up their blue bags, off they go like a treasure hunt…they come back two hours later with filled cars.”
Once all the drivers have returned with the filled food bags at the church parking lot, then the drivers from local food banks arrive to pick up what they need, according to a prearranged schedule. Currently, CFP provides bags of food to Chico Community Food Locker, CHAT, Southside Community Center, and many others. The need keeps growing. And some of these non-profits have suffered funding cuts from other sources. According to CFP’s website, currently one in five Butte County households are at or below poverty level. That means there are a lot of Chico families who are hungry. Seventy-five percent of single moms and their children live in poverty. Food pantries have been overwhelmed by the demand and are in desperate need of a continual supply.
Kenkel proudly reflects on how their project’s operation has worked. “I think for us…as small as we are, I think we’re doing a good job…Kind of a well-oiled machine, and I mean our part of collecting food.” And now, Kenkel is confident the machine will continue to run efficiently when she soon steps back from the main duties as program director, and hands over the responsibility to Emily Little.
Supporting the CFP can be done in several ways. Individuals can become food donors by requesting a blue bag at the website Chico Food Project then regularly contributing non-perishable food items. Also, volunteers play a crucial role by assisting in the collection and transportation of food every two months. The next scheduled food pick up is June 14th.
Additionally, for people wanting to support the CFP without volunteering, monetary donations can be made to this 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit through the North Valley Community Foundation.
The Chico Food Project started with inspiration from a billboard and nearly 13 years later its message has transformed from a sign into a shared commitment to feed thousands in Butte County.
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