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Regional food bank reports 2.3 million pounds distributed in Palm Springs over past year
Summary
Find Food Bank told the City Council that it distributed about 2.3 million pounds of fresh and nutritious food in Palm Springs over the last 12 months, reported more than 90,000 client interactions and received a $65,000 city grant to support mobile pantries.
Find Food Bank President and CEO Debbie (last name not specified in the transcript) told the Palm Springs City Council on Sept. 25 that FIND — the desert regional food bank affiliated with Feeding America — distributed roughly 2,300,000 pounds of fresh and nutritious food in Palm Springs over the previous 12 months and ran outreach that generated more than 90,000 community engagements.
The presentation was part of the council meeting’s acknowledgment of Hunger Action Month. Debbie said more than half of the fresh pounds distributed were fresh produce and that FIND and local partners rescued over 600,000 pounds of food from retailers rather than letting it go to landfill.
“This is why I wear orange,” Debbie said, referring to the national Feeding America awareness color she wore while addressing the council. She thanked the city for awarding FIND a $65,000 grant to help support mobile pantries coming to Palm Springs and noted local community distribution partners such as the LGBTQ Center, Desert AIDS Project (DAP) and Well in the Desert.
Debbie emphasized that food insecurity touches working people and fixed-income residents as well as children and seniors. She cited Feeding America data placing Palm Springs’ local food-insecurity rate at 15.9 percent and told the council that about 97 percent of FIND’s clients are people who work in the community, not people who are homeless.
Council members asked about FIND’s facility expansion and services. Debbie said FIND opened a roughly 40,000-square-foot addition adjacent to its existing building to avoid turning food away during spikes in need — a capacity issue that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the new facility had an official ribbon cutting the day after the meeting and invited council and staff to tours and open houses.
The presentation was informational; no formal council action on FIND funding took place at that time beyond the earlier grant award Debbie referenced.
Debbie answered questions about FIND’s scale and partnerships and said the food bank is increasing capacity to meet year-round need in the Coachella Valley.
