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- Written by: Lake County News reports
NORTH COAST, Calif. – As the largest hunger-relief organization serving north coastal California, the Redwood Empire Food Bank is in dire need of food, funds, and volunteers.
The organization said the daily increase in the number of unemployed in the community is skyrocketing, and with fire season looming, the need for food will continue to increase at an exceptional rate.
“Over the past couple of months, our community has endured unprecedented challenges. The threat of COVID-19, and the shelter in place orders that blanket our state, have changed our lives in unimaginable ways. Yet the crisis we are facing is not just a public health one – it is a food crisis. And much like the disease itself, this food crisis knows no boundaries,” said Redwood Empire Food Bank CEO David Goodman.
Even in the best of times, food banks and food pantries are a bright spot in this community for neighbors struggling to make ends meet. Now more than ever, the food being provided by the Redwood Empire Food Bank is a lifeline.
In recent weeks, many of the Redwood Empire Food Bank’s partners have been forced to close their doors or limit their services, driving even more people to their doorstep.
“Since the start of this crisis, participation at our distribution sites has increased by up to 200 percent. Over the coming weeks and months, the number of people we serve in an average year will double, from 82,000 to 164,000,” said Goodman.
As an essential service provider, the Redwood Empire Food Bank has been on the frontlines of this crisis from the very beginning.
In the face of an extremely fluid situation, the organization has adapted and revamped operations to meet the drastically increased need.
Activating its emergency response program, Station 3990, has allowed more flexibility in the assistance provided, establishing temporary distributions whenever and wherever needed in addition to the food bank’s regular services.
Despite school closures, the Redwood Empire Food Bank continues to provide food to children and their families at more than 20 school sites. Thousands of new, more robust food boxes (each with enough food for 16 meals) are being safely packed every day with the help of the National Guard and a host of dedicated community volunteers.
“Each day, we are providing the equivalent of more than 80,000 meals to our neighbors in need – nearly 50 percent more than at this same time last year,” said Redwood Empire Food Bank’s marketing and PR manager, Rachelle Mesheau.
“As we always have, the Redwood Empire Food Bank stands ready to see our neighbors through the end of this crisis. But we need the help of our community. Every dollar, every minute, and every food donation makes a difference,” Mesheau said.
What can you do to help?
– Donate money. When you donate to the Redwood Empire Food Bank, your money helps purchase food, pay staff, fuel trucks and keep the lights on – distributing food to those in need.
– Donate food. Food donations help keep warehouse shelves stocked with non-perishable staple groceries for distribution through Redwood Empire Food Bank programs and partner organizations.
– The most needed items include Tuna and Canned Meat, Peanut Butter, Canned Soups, Stews, and Chili, Rice and Dry Beans, Cereal, Canned Fruits and Vegetables, High Protein Granola Bars, Trail Mix or Nut.
– Donate time. Throughout the year, the Redwood Empire Food Bank relies on 8,500 volunteers. With the shelter in place order, many volunteers are having to stay home and they're working hard to keep up with demand.
Most distribution sites have been turned into drive-thrus to accommodate safe social distancing practices. Volunteers are packing food boxes for participants to grab and go.
Dedicated community volunteers, Team Rubicon, and the National Guard are packing food boxes at the Redwood Empire Food Bank’s Sonoma County Day School outpost. Together, they are kitting approximately 5,000 food boxes a day.
“The sheer number of people falling into our safety net requires that it be broadened, fortified and maintained,” said Goodman. “With our community’s generous support, we can ensure that nobody experiences hunger.”
Donations can be made through the Redwood Empire Food Bank’s website at www.refb.org .
Anyone seeking food assistance can call the Redwood Empire Food Bank Food Connections Office at 707-523-7903 or visit http://getfood.refb.org .
Since 1987, the Redwood Empire Food Bank has provided food and nourishment to those facing hunger – currently serving 82,000 children, families and seniors in Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte and Lake County.
The Redwood Empire Food Bank collaborates with local and regional partners to obtain and distribute the equivalent of more than 40,000 meals every day. Through more than 200 direct service distributions and partnerships with 170 other hunger-relief organizations, the food bank forms a network of more than 450 weekly and monthly distribution sites serving all residents facing food insecurity.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Dr. Gary Pace spoke with the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning about the next steps as Lake County moves into Stage 2 of the governor’s reopening guidelines. Stage 2 began on Friday.
The county has been under Pace’s shelter in place order since March 19. Pace changed the shelter in place order last week to be in alignment with the state shelter in place order, which remains in effect until further notice.
Pace told the board, “There’s caution and optimism at the same time,” as he speaks to schools and businesses about reopening while balancing a return to routines with efforts to keep the community safe.
As of Tuesday, Lake County’s confirmed COVID-19 cases remained at eight, all of them recovered, Pace said.
He said none of those eight individuals are contagious any longer, explaining that scientists have not been able to confirm the virus can grow in people after they come out of isolation.
Lake County has now tested more than 1,000 people, starting additional testing last week at two sites in Lakeport. Testing also is taking place this week in Clearlake, Pace said.
He said it’s important to reopen slowly, carefully and thoughtfully so there isn’t a need to shut down again.
As the county seeks an accelerated opening under the state’s rules, Pace said he wants to make masking mandatory in county businesses, with both workers and patrons to be required to use facial coverings.
He said he’s not interested in making masking mandatory when people are out walking, but he said that as people are mixing in the community, they need protections.
During the meeting Supervisor Rob Brown said he didn’t think mandatory masking was the way to go and that he opposed a “mandatory feel good requirement” that would be selectively enforced. He suggested it could be a good marketing tool and would be enforced by the market.
Pace said masking is about courtesy and taking care of your neighbor. He said that masking, social distancing and handwashing work to fight the virus.
As for enforcement, Pace said the county will ask businesses to follow a plan. Public Health won’t be approving or disapproving businesses’ plans, but businesses that are allowed to open in Stage 2 will need to follow state requirements and document that they have plans to follow health guidelines. They will need to post those requirements by their doors.
The certifications and guidance are available on the Lake County Public Health website.
If Public Health starts to get complaints, Pace said its Environmental Health Division will go out and visit businesses and educate them about the requirements. He said there is no interest in issuing fines.
“We’re not going to be able to keep the public safe if people don’t comply,” Pace said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s reopening plan allows counties to move at an accelerated pace through the stages if they can attest to certain requirements.
Pace said Public Health intends to apply for a variance to follow that accelerated process.
On Tuesday afternoon, after the board meeting, the Governor’s Office announced that the state’s first two counties, Butte and El Dorado, attested that they have met certain criteria necessary to move further into Stage 2.
Butte has 20 confirmed cases and El Dorado has 60, with neither reporting any deaths to date, according to reports from their respective health departments on Tuesday.
Butte County has 210,291 residents and El Dorado 193,227, according to population estimates released this month by the California Department of Finance.
The California Department of Public Health reported that Butte and El Dorado can begin reopening dine-in restaurants and shopping malls, with modifications.
The state reported that several other counties also have applied for the accelerated process: Amador, Lassen, Nevada, Placer and Shasta.
Steps to seeking a variance
Health Services Director Denise Pomeroy told the board that her department has notified the California Department of Public Health of the county’s intent to seek a variance, meeting with the agency on Monday.
She said the county must be certified through a written attestation by the Public Health officer and supported by letters from the Board of Supervisors and local hospitals.
The state’s requirements for adjusting modifications include the epidemiological stability of COVID-19 cases, which Pomeroy explained means that there are no more than one case per 10,000 residents and no more deaths in the 14 days prior to the county’s attestation submission to the state.
Other requirements include providing copies of guidance to protect essential workers and availability of personal protective gear and cleaning supplies; a testing capacity of 1.5 tests per 1,000 residents, which Pomeroy said totals 700 per week in Lake County, and testing availability for 75 percent of county residents within a 60-minute drive; containment capacity; capacity of local hospitals to be able to handle a minimum 35-percent surge in COVID-19 patients in addition to handling normal care levels for non-COVID-19 patients; and the ability to shelter at least 15 percent of county residents experiencing homelessness, which totals about 86 people.
Pomeroy said the county must also be able to detail the county’s plan on which sectors and spaces will be opened, in what sequence, on what timeline, and indicate where its plan differs from the state’s timeline.
Additionally, the county must inform the state of emerging concerns and how it will implement early containment measures.
Pace said he wanted to have the plan ready for the board to review at its meeting next Tuesday, with plans to submit it to the state by the end of next week so the county could enter into an accelerated reopening the following week. He said mandatory masking in the stores and an enforcement framework would be included in the plan.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he hoped the board on Tuesday would be able to give the plan final approval so it could be submitted as soon as possible to the state. “Let us know how we can help.”
Pomeroy said the goal is to have the plan read ahead of the Tuesday meeting, as early as Saturday or Monday, at the latest.
This article has been corrected to show that Pace’s most recent health order aligns with the state order and therefore doesn’t have a stated end date.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Currently, there are over 700,000 Californians who still aren’t within an hour’s drive of a testing site after a commitment was made by the state that all Californians will be within a one hour drive of a site. This is unacceptable to both the Assembly member and senator.
Sen. McGuire and Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry have been working hand in hand over the past several weeks with county officials and the California Department of Public Health to get a state testing site secured for local residents.
“If we are truly going to be a California For All, we need Testing For All,” Sen. Mike McGuire said. “The road to reopening our economy and our schools is built off of data, science and a robust testing program in all corners of this state. Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and I have been working overtime to ensure testing equity and an additional state testing site here in Lake will be a huge boost. We are grateful to the county, California Department of Public Health and Governor Newsom for their partnership with this critical initiative.”
“I appreciate the partnership with the state, and the constant engagement from Lake County leaders to make sure that our reopening comes with the ability to track new developments with the virus at the county level. A testing site in Lake County is essential to reopening the local economy,” said Aguiar-Curry. “Safe reopening means having the ability to test and track the virus. Successful reopening will come when we can ensure a safe environment for patrons to go back out and support our local businesses.”
A state-sponsored testing site will be up and running in Lake County soon. Specific details and logistics on the site are currently being organized between the county and the California Department of Public Health. More information will be provided from the county of Lake in the coming days.
“From day one of the COVID-19 crisis, my priority has been keeping Lake County residents safe,” said Moke Simon, chair of the Lake County Board of Supervisors. “It has been deeply frustrating to get calls from people with mild-moderate symptoms that just can’t access testing, and as we proceed through the coming stages of recovery, testing will only be increasingly important. With 23 percent of our population over the age of 65, and an even greater percentage in at-risk categories, we all have loved ones we’re concerned about, and lives are at stake.”
“We cannot allow lagging indicators to lead in rural California,” said County Administrative Officer, Carol J. Huchingson. “More than 15,000 Lake County residents are at high risk of severe COVID-19 complications, and we have 50 staffed hospital beds and eight intensive care unit beds. It is not acceptable to wait until we have an acute crisis to understand the extent to which infection may be permeating Lake County’s communities. Greater surveillance testing capacity is overdue, and we are grateful our State representatives understood the problem, and we are on the precipice of addressing it.”
“Thanks to Senator McGuire and Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s tireless efforts, on behalf of and alongside Lake County’s leaders, we will soon know better where we stand in this fight,” said Supervisor Simon. “We’ve been fortunate, so far, but we have to be informed as well. Broader testing is critical to responsibly restarting our economy, and taking meaningful steps to recover from this crisis.”
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The virtual town hall will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
This event will be held over Zoom and interested participants must email Thompson’s office at
Interested participants will be notified via email with instructions on how to join. The event will also be streamed on Facebook Live via Thompson’s page, https://www.facebook.com/RepMikeThompson/ .
This is the fifth in a series of virtual town halls where Thompson and experts from across the district are answering questions on the response to the fallout from coronavirus.
For this week’s virtual town hall, Thompson will be joined by Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan and Solano County Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas.
All constituents of California’s Fifth Congressional District and members of the press are invited to join.
Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.