Tehachapi proclaims September 2025 Hunger Action Month; CAPK outlines local food distribution numbers

The Tehachapi City Council on Sept. 15 proclaimed September 2025 as Hunger Action Month and heard a presentation from Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) about the agency’s food-distribution work in the city.

CAPK speakers told the council the organization distributed more than 4,130 pounds of food in Tehachapi in the first eight months of 2025 and said the community averages nearly 52,000 pounds of food delivered to Tehachapi each month from the CAPK warehouse. CAPK said those figures include about 100 senior food boxes per month for local seniors. One CAPK speaker said, based on Tehachapi’s population and an estimated county food-insecurity rate of about 15%, the local need would be “a little over 33,000 pounds” per month, and that current distributions exceed that amount.

CAPK representatives urged residents to support the food bank by donating, volunteering and participating in community drives. CAPK staff highlighted two upcoming volunteer events: a community box-building day on Sept. 20 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and a major food drive at the county fair on Sept. 23. CAPK staff provided a contact email for volunteer registration: tmitchell@capk.org.

Mayor Joan Pogon Court read a proclamation noting CAPK distributed more than 22 million pounds of food countywide in 2024 and urged residents to join hunger-relief efforts in Tehachapi. Council members and public commenters praised CAPK’s local partners, including Saint Malachy Conference of Saint Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army of Tehachapi and Stallion Springs Church, and noted CAPK’s new local office near City Hall.

The proclamation was a ceremonial action; no budget or ordinance changes were proposed at the meeting.