Southeast Inyo residents tell supervisors halted commodities, closed cooling centers are risking seniors and families

Residents from Shoshone, Tacopa and other Southeast Inyo communities told the Inyo County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 9 that the suspension of monthly commodity distributions and limited access to local cooling centers have left seniors and large families struggling to meet basic needs.

The public comments, made during the board's public comment period, came from several long‑time volunteers and residents who said the commodity distribution had been a crucial safety net. "After 35 years of this partnership with the market, they just pull out without any warning whatsoever, leaving people in a panic out here," said John (commenter), during online public comment. "I'm wondering if there's any contingency plan, and what can this council do to help us find a replacement program and or funds to help us help ourselves."

Why it matters: speakers said the commodity distribution served 50 to 60 households in Southeast Inyo and provided essential food for seniors and families with children. They described recent extreme heat and a multi‑day power outage during Labor Day weekend that highlighted gaps in emergency preparedness and in the county's ability to operate community cooling centers during prolonged outages.

Resident Cameron Mayer of Shoshone told supervisors the halt in distributions would deeply affect many households in remote parts of the county. "A number of folks here will be deeply affected by the loss of basic necessities to sustain them," Mayer said. He also said the county needs an automatic process to keep community centers open for extended hours during prolonged outages and that volunteer support should be integrated into that process.

Toni (Tacopa), who identified herself as a volunteer for Emaka, told the board she depends on the distribution and that local volunteers and key‑holders had been prevented from keeping the community center open during the recent heat event. "We have volunteers here, qualified, trusted volunteers that can be left alone with the community center to take care of our people," she said. "It's like I said, I'm really passionate about this. Please don't forget about us."

Patrick Donnelly, a Shoshone resident, said the commodities program was the "last threads of the social safety net" for people in Southeast Inyo and presented local estimates of need: "Between 50 and 60 households are served by the commodities program, including seniors and family with children." Donnelly also gave community statistics during his remarks, saying local median household income was about $27,000 and Tacopa had a 33% poverty rate and a median age of 68.

Board response and next steps: Supervisors acknowledged the comments and several said they support finding funds or other sources to address the gap. County Administrator Nate Greenberg and Health and Human Services Director Anna Scott discussed how department staff and volunteers coordinate services and noted uncertainty in some state and federal funding streams. The board directed staff to explore options, and during the budget hearing later in the meeting supervisors approved converting two part‑time cooks in the county's senior meal program to full time and directed that conversion to be funded from 1991 realignment revenues; Health and Human Services told the board it had been stretched thin providing meals during staffing shortages.

What was not decided: speakers asked for an immediate county‑run replacement for the commodities distribution and for formal authorization to use volunteers and volunteers' keys to keep community centers open during prolonged outages. The board did not adopt a specific replacement program at the Sept. 9 hearing; instead, the session produced direction to staff to investigate funding sources, volunteer protocols and possible short‑term solutions.

Context and background: Commenters said IMACA (the local nonprofit that ran the distribution) suspended deliveries for the summer and now there appeared to be no plan to resume distributions. Public commenters linked the commodity suspension to other stresses: high fuel costs and pending CalFresh/benefit changes. Supervisors and staff also noted a need to clarify responsibilities for operating cooling centers and to update emergency staffing plans to allow rapid extended opening in severe weather.

What to watch: the board's upcoming budget adoption meeting on Sept. 23 and staff follow‑ups on HHS contingency plans for food distribution and cooling centers. Health and Human Services and the county administrator said they would bring more detail to the board, including options for donor, nonprofit or county funding and protocols for volunteer operation of facilities.