Yolo Food Bank to lose nearly 2M pounds in food donations with West Sacramento Amazon warehouse closure
WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Yolo Food Bank says it is about to be hit with a massive loss in critically needed food donations when the Amazon Fulfillment Center closes its warehouse in West Sacramento on October 30.
The food bank says it has been the grateful recipient of donations from Amazon for several years now and they have come to rely on them, especially since pandemic-era food help for organizations has ended.
"The food we are able to distribute, about 60% of that comes from food that we recover form grocers, retailers, distribution centers such as Amazon. They are among the top donors that we rely on," said Maria Segoviano with the Yolo Food Bank.
Amazon confirmed on Thursday that about 160 employees at the West Sacramento warehouse will be impacted by the closure but that customers will not feel the loss.
Organizers at the food bank say they do not know where to turn to fill the gap to make up for the loss in donations from Amazon.
"We're going to take about a 1.6 million hit in terms of pounds that come into the food bank. Financially, that equates to an over a $2.8 million loss," Segoviano said.
That makes up about 10% of their current food supply. Annually they distribute about 10 million pounds of food throughout Yolo County.
"We are constantly having to seek new funding, new sources, new support, that's why this is a big hit for us," said Segoviano.
The hit comes as many have fallen on hard times Segoviano says attendance at the food bank's weekly distributions in West Sacramento has gone up by 50% since last year.
"The need is only getting higher, it's only increasing, the lines are getting longer. We are seeing that," she said. "Most of them are working parents, single parents that just need a little more to get by because the price of everything has gone up."
Organizations like the Center for Land Based Learning (CLBL), which this year expanded its Mobile Farmer's Market to reach more of Yolo County, are also working to help the hungry.
"We're literally going into the neighborhoods that need us most," said Susie Sutphin of CLBL. "Yolo County is the most food insecure county in all of California, placing 1 of every 3 Yolo County residents as food insecure."
Segoviano said a report put out this year by the food bank confirmed that and also found Yolo County to be the most impoverished county in the state of California.
The Yolo Food Bank is asking for the community to help offset the massive donation disruption so they can continue to help those who are most in need.
"It is a time with the holidays right around the corner, household budgets become more stressed around this time," Segoviano said.
Monetary donations can be made on the food bank's website.
Amazon told CBS13 that for now, its donations to the Yolo Food Bank will continue until they close the warehouse. They add that their new Amazon Fresh store in Elk Grove will donate food to Feeding America, which helps supply food donations to food banks across our entire region. Amazon says that would also include Yolo County.