(KRON) – About 12% of households across the country have been affected by the cessation of federal food aid 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 difficult 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, “This little extra help means everything.”
Jennifer Wirtz, who organized the food distribution, highlighted the crisis in Sonoma County, saying: “There are 40,000 people who depend on SNAP benefits for food, most of whom are children, the elderly and the disabled, and this is a crisis.”
Soledad Figueroa, executive director of River to Coast Children’s Services, emphasized the community’s efforts, saying, “We have a lot of food donated in a couple of hours, so I’m always amazed at how responsive the community is when we do something like this.”
The food distribution event was started by Wertz in Guerneville, which took to social media weeks before the event to ask for food donations from the community. Volunteers picked up food outside a local Safeway, collecting seven carts 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 critical role in organizing and gathering resources for the distribution.
Flynn shared her personal struggle with food insecurity, noting the impact the SNAP suspension had on her ability to provide for her family during the holiday season. She expressed her hope that community support would help families get through these difficult times.
Jennifer Wertz emphasized that the initiative was not about politics but about meeting the immediate needs of hungry children, saying: “While people are pointing fingers at each other, it is not getting the hungry kids done today.”
“No matter where you are in your struggle, everyone still loves each other,” Flynn added.
All facts contained in this report were collected by journalists working forCrohn4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat the broadcast transcript into a news article for our website. This report was edited and verified by KRON4 staff before deployment.