County report maps food-distribution gaps, recommends county coordination, flexible funding and infrastructure

What was presented: Human Services Department staff and consultant Ag Innovations presented a countywide Food Distribution System Assessment on Feb. 11 that mapped providers, documented service gaps and recommended actions to strengthen food security across Sonoma County.

Study approach and stakeholders: Consultants conducted a literature review, interviewed roughly 25 food-distribution organizations, held five focus groups that included people experiencing food insecurity and spoke with county and non-profit partners. The work drew on existing county datasets including the county's portraits, hunger index and point-in-time data and incorporated input from a county advisory group and an expert advisory group.

Findings (high level):

- Demand has not returned to pre-pandemic levels for many providers; some organizations remain stretched for volunteers and staffing.

- Geographic and population disparities exist: providers and focus-group participants cited particular concerns in parts of the Russian River area, other rural pockets and communities with high costs of living.

- Providers told consultants they need flexible funding to pay for infrastructure (refrigeration, storage), staff capacity (case managers, dietitians) and co-location opportunities (for example, providing food at schools, community centers and other high-access sites).

Recommendations for the county and partners: The report's top recommendations call for county leadership to convene partners, fund coordination, standardize or centralize data collection, provide flexible grants for organizational resilience and invest in physical infrastructure (cold storage, shared kitchens) and in expanding community farms.

Community context and examples: Multiple speakers in public comment praised community farms such as Jardedn del Pueblo, which volunteers have scaled rapidly from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands of pounds of produce in recent years. A garden and farm approach has delivered local produce to food banks and pantry partners, but providers and farmers said more processing, refrigeration and coordination are needed to fully integrate local agricultural production into the food-distribution network.

Next steps proposed: Human Services staff said they can begin convening partners, but that a sustained county role will require funding or staffing. The report recommends that the board consider how county-owned land and permitting processes could facilitate community farms and that staff return with options to convene providers and target initial investments, including pilot refrigeration sites and improved referral/data systems.

Ending: The assessment provides an organizing framework and a menu of actions. Staff recommended starting with partner convenings and a set of low-barrier pilot investments while exploring longer-term funding for coordination and infrastructure.