Redwood Empire Food Bank

This year's 33rd annual Wine Road Barrel Tasting event in March generated record breaking sales, with over 26,500 attendees from 47 states. The Wine Road has again continued its tradition of giving back to the community with a donation of $26,500 - $1 per every ticket sold - to the Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB). In addition to the Wine Road's generous commitment, another $3,500 was donated to the organization from Barrel Tasting attendees who contributed when ordering their event tickets online.

The Redwood Empire Food Bank acquires food and distributes it through a network of charitable agencies and its own food assistance programs, and also provides food to Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties through smaller food banks. In addition, the REFB includes nutrition education as an integral part of many of their programs.

Beth Costa, executive director of the Wine Road expresses, "We were so happy that this year's Barrel Tasting event was such a success. With such a great year in which $2.5 Million was generated in wine sales, it is an honor for the members of the Wine Road to have the opportunity to assist those who are less fortunate in Sonoma County with this donation. Year after year, our wineries and lodgings take pride in supporting this cause, and event patrons feel good about being part of a contribution to the community. We are happy to report that over the past six years, the Wine Road has donated a total of $150,000 to the REFB, and we look forward to continuing the partnership."

ABOUT THE REDWOOD EMPIRE FOOD BANK:
Mission Statement
To end hunger in our community. We define ending hunger as having in place a community response system that makes adequate nutrition assistance available and accessible to anyone in need of help.

Ending Hunger in our Community
Serving Sonoma County since 1987, the Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB) has grown to serve every area of the county: from Petaluma to Cloverdale, Sonoma Valley to Occidental, and everywhere in between. We have developed three major hunger initiatives to provide low-income families, seniors and children their most basic necessity - nutritious food.

Every Child, Every Day
The REFB ensures that at-risk children get a healthy start in life through supplemental nutrition programs that address the special developmental needs of preschoolers. Once children enter school, the REFB offers programs to fill the gaps in school-based nutrition services by providing healthy snacks in after-school settings, nutritious groceries to take home over the weekend and hearty meals during the summer recess.

Senior Security
Many seniors in our community are living on fixed incomes that are not adequate to take care of their basic needs. The REFB's monthly grocery boxes, weekly produce pantries and special nutrition programs provide the nutritional stability seniors need to lead healthy and independent lives.

Neighborhood Hunger Network
The REFB operates a county-wide pantry and emergency food system with over 200 distributions each month, providing staple groceries and healthy produce to anyone in need of help. We also are a major source of food for a network of 147 other Sonoma County hunger-relief organizations that include pantries, dining rooms, kitchens and shelters. In addition, we provide food to Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties through smaller food banks and charitable organizations.

The REFB is a cost effective investment in the community. This year the REFB:

• is ranked 16th out of 209 food banks nationwide in amount of food provided per person in poverty.
• served 78,000 of our low-income neighbors each month.
• brought over $16 million worth of food into the county from local, regional and national sources.
• distributed 12.59 million pounds of food, which is the equivalent of 27,000 meals a day.
• distributed over $4 worth of food for every $1 spent.
• enlisted 5,000 volunteers who donated 70,000 hours - the equivalent of 33 employees.