(KRON) — About 12% of households nationwide are affected by the pause in federal food assistance due to the ongoing government shutdown, creating uncertainty and anxiety among families.
In Guerneville, local nonprofits and food justice advocates have taken action to support the community during this challenging time. A community food distribution event was organized to help families in need, with significant contributions from volunteers and local organizations.
Mercedes Flynn, a Guerneville resident and mother of two, expressed her gratitude for the community’s support, saying, “That extra little help means everything.”
Jennifer Wertz, who organized the food distribution, highlighted the crisis in Sonoma County, stating, “There’s 40,000 people that rely on SNAP benefits to get food and most of them are children, seniors and disabled people and that’s a crisis.”
Soledad Figueroa, Executive Director of River to Coast Children’s Services, emphasized the community effort, saying, “We have tons of food that was donated within a couple of hours so always amaze me how well the community responds when we’re doing something like this.”
The food distribution event in Guerneville was initiated by Wertz, who turned to social media weeks before the event to request food donations from the community. Volunteers collected food outside a local Safeway, gathering seven carts worth of groceries in just three hours.
The Redwood Empire Food Bank and several private contributors also donated food to support the effort. Local nonprofits, including River to Coast Children’s Services, played a crucial role in organizing and gathering resources for the distribution.
Flynn shared her personal struggles with food insecurity, noting the impact of the SNAP suspension on her ability to provide for her family during the holiday season. She expressed hope that the community’s support would help families get through these hard times.
Jennifer Wertz emphasized that the initiative was not about politics but about addressing the immediate needs of hungry children, stating, “And while people point fingers at each other, it doesn’t accomplish feeding kids that are hungry today.”
“Doesn’t matter where you at in your struggle, everyone still loves each other,” added Flynn.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.
