A Healthy Response
Programs Addressing Food Insecurity in Mendocino County
by Terry Ryder Sites
In rural Mendocino, there is a strong and long-standing spirit of neighbors helping neighbors. So when federal food assistance benefits were delayed at the end of 2025, local organizations stepped up.
Unfortunatley, food insecurity is a long-standing problem here. According to Healthy Mendocino, a consortium of people from all sectors working to improve the health of county residents, around 15% of the people living here have experienced food insecurity. Similarly, the Mendocino Food Network website says that 16% of the population of Mendocino County depend on SNAP benefits—also knownas CalFresh benefits.
Because this issue is not a new one, there are programs in place to help respond to the crisis. Nuestra Alianza de Willits has been providing support for families since 2000.The organization, which was conceived by ESL teacher Dina Hutton and 16 of her students, has become a valuable cultural resource. Dina says, “All my life I’ve jumped into things I didn’t know how to do.” Located at the Little Lake Grange in Willits, their facility includes a food bank that distributes food to Fort Bragg, Laytonville, Redwood Valley, and Ukiah. Their work is partially supported by the Community Foundation, and they are a perfect example of grassroots assistance. One of their volunteers says, “I realized when I started working with Nuestra Alianza how much people love and depend on it. People come to us assuming we can help with anything as a friend. We mean so much.”
Plowshares in Ukiah is another organization on the front lines of feeding people. Founded in 1983 by a coalition of religious faithful, most notably the fiery Sister Jane Kelly, the organization is open 365 days a year. Every day the dining room serves free, hot meals cooked onsite, while the Meals on Wheels program delivers prepared meals to seniorsthroughout the area. The organization relies on seven staff and over 100 volunteers who together served a jaw-dropping 108,000 meals in 2025.
The Mendo Food Network—“Where compassion meetsaction”—has been providing essential food assistance since 1979. If you are a senior the network offers special programs aimed directly at your needs. At the Anderson Valley Food Bank, which gets some of its supplies from the Network, qualifying seniors get an extra box of groceries.
There are multiple ways to get help and to give help. Any excess produce from your garden or orchard can be dropped off at one of Mendocino County’s communityproduce drop-offs. (A story on the MendoVoice website from November 2025 outlined locations and includes contact info—see the link at the end of this article for reference.) These food produce drop-offs and pick-ups are mostly organized around times of harvest when there is an abundance of fresh food available. Rachelle Sutherland, Deputy Director of the Mendo Food Network, says, “I feel like if you are in need of food you can find it in any corner of this county.” There are drop-off and pick-up sites in Albion, Boonville, Comptche, Fort Bragg, Gualala, Laytonville, Leggett, Mendocino, Round Valley, Ukiah, Willits and Westport. That’s a lot of fresh food changing hands.
The Caring Kitchen works through North Coast Oppor-tunities (NCO) to prepare and deliver nourishing meals for individuals and families experiencing serious health challenges. The kitchen volunteers are both seniors and teens, providing useful culinary training for the young while also bridging generational gaps.
Working side by side with people who care is a great way to establish solid relationships, some of which blossom into that rarest of flowers—true friendship. In his book Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules For a Long and Healthy Life, Dr.Ezekiel Emanuel asserts how spending time with others is essential for living a long and healthy life. If you are new to an area, volunteering for a food bank or similar program is a great way to find people you might enjoy knowing.
Another impressive local organization is NCO’s MendoLake Food Hub. In 2025 it provided over 70,000 pounds of local farm-grown food to food banks via the Farms Togetherprogram, which runs through the end of May, 2026. The Hub is also starting to develop a gleaning program that will address some of the liability challenges associated with gleaning from commercial farms and properties. If successful, it will get more fresh food into the community and reduce food waste. Any interested producers are welcome to reach out to the Food Hub.
The Mendocino County Local Food Guide offers a wealth of information, well beyond who is growing what and where you can buy it. The Guide, originally written by volunteers with the Anderson Valley Foodshed and now funded by a USDA grant managed by North Coast Opportunities and the MendoLake Food Hub, also has sections listing food banks, hot meal/bag lunch programs, meal deliveries, and more.
There are seven food banks: Anderson Valley, Fort Bragg, Gualala, Laytonville, Round Valley, Ukiah and Willits. Food pantries can be found in Comptche, Leggett, Mendocino, Potter Valley and Westport. These resources do not require EBT cards and there is usually a very minimal registration requiring a person’s name and phone number.
The Guide also has helpful information for gardeners who want to grow their own food, including a list of local seed banks and growing/harvesting guides. It points out which local farmers markets accept EBT. This allows SNAP recipients to use their benefits to purchase local food with them.All the information in the Guide can also be found on the website: Mendofoodguide.org. Pick up a hard copy at the Ukiah Natural Foods Co-Op, independent grocers, local delis and farm stands, and farmers markets.
Hunger is a problem in Mendocino County, but there are programs working to address it. A lot of the people involved in the efforts are part of the Mendocino Food Policy Council, formed 15 years ago to work toward a more just and resilient food system in our county. As of 2026, The School of Adaptive Agriculture will lead the Council, and anyone is welcome to join. The issue may be daunting, but when people share their energy, creativity, and generosity, they build community solutions that bring hope—and sustenance—to those who need them.
Resources:
mendovoice.com/2025/11/the-ultimate-guide-to-free-and-fresh-produce-
Header Photo and Top Right: courtesy of Caring Kitchen.
Top left Photo: courtesy of Plowshares.
