STAFF REPORT
City of Lancaster
CC 16
11/12/2024
TN
Date:November 12, 2024
To: Mayor Parris and City Council Members
From:George N. Harris II, Senior Director/Treasurer – Administrative Services Chenin Dow, Assistant Director
Subject:Award of Funds for Community Food Program.
Recommendation:
1.Award funds under the FY 2024-25 Community Food Program to the organizations and in the amounts outlined in this staff report.
2. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to finalize and execute any related documents in a form approved by the City Attorney.
G.C. Section 84308: No
Fiscal Impact:
$100,000 in previously budgeted General Fund.
Background:
The City of Lancaster has a long history of supporting local community organizations that provide essential services for our residents. One such service is community food distribution, which provides groceries and meals to those in need.
The Lancaster City Council set aside $100,000 in the fiscal year 2024-25 budget to support the efforts of local nonprofit organizations to help fill this need in our community. Accordingly, the City released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) inviting community organizations to apply for funding under the Community Food Program.
The following table reflects the applications received, funding amounts requested, and funds recommended for the award. Proposed amounts are based on funding requests and the estimated number of people served by each organization’s services based on information provided in their respective applications.
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Organization Funding Requested Proposed Funding Award
Central Christian $8,000 $8,000
Grace Resources $154,913.40 $62,000
SALVA $120,000 $30,000
Since 2008, Central Christian Church has partnered with the City of Lancaster to provide services at the Trend Impact House, a home owned by the City in the Trend Neighborhood (near Avenue L and 40th Street West). The underserved neighborhood was adopted by Central Christian Church, which aims to “minister to as many spiritual, physical and emotional needs as we can” for the adults and children living in the 504-home neighborhood. Current services at the Impact House include after-school tutoring, snacks and crafts; a reading specialist; nutrition classes; cooking classes; choir; gardening; summer activities; and more. Central Christian also provides a twice- monthly market offering food to those in need in conjunction with the Los Angeles County food bank, Antelope Valley College, Antelope Valley Partners for Health, and Leah’s Pantry.
Founded as a food pantry, Grace Resources (“Grace”) has served the indigent, working poor and homeless in the Antelope Valley for decades. The organization’s aim is to lift individuals and households out of poverty by freeing funds that would ordinarily be used for groceries to be used for rent, mortgages, utilities, and other essential services to keep them in their homes. In 2023, Grace distributed over 82,000 bags of groceries. Grace currently distributes groceries five times per week at Grace Resource Center. Households and individuals can receive groceries once per week, with the number of bags received based on the number of household members. Groceries are also delivered to six senior living facilities to assist senior citizens living on fixed incomes.
Furthermore, Grace provides groceries to 19 other churches, nonprofits, and organizations to be distributed in neighborhoods throughout Lancaster and the Antelope Valley, as well as 2 distributions each month at the City’s Desert View Neighborhood Impact Home to serve families that live within a 2-3 block diameter of the home.
In addition to groceries, Grace serves hot meals four times per week at Grace Resource Center. 2023 saw 15,107 hot meals served to those in need, and Grace is on track to beat this record in 2024.
Launched in 2016 to support the region’s immigrant community, SALVA provides services such as migratory clinics, citizenship classes, deportation litigation defense, “know your rights” workshops, Wage Theft Labor Commission application, classes in English, Spanish literacy, and more. The organization began community food distribution efforts in 2018. SALVA currently provides groceries to more than 400 families in Palmdale each week and expanded its services to Lancaster in response to the growing demand for food assistance, particularly during the economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.
All three participating organizations plan to use the funding awarded through the program to strengthen and expand their services and aid additional local families.
Through the Community Food Program, the City of Lancaster can support these organizations in their endeavor to combat hunger among those most in need in our community.
Attachment:
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