Arcata Service Center

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About the Nutrition Program

Program History and Need

For over 33 years Arcata Endeavor has served the poor in the City of Arcata.  Since 1999 Arcata Endeavor has provided supportive and essential services from its present location at the Arcata Service Center (ASC). Prior to occupation of the ASC Food Pantry monthly boxes were distributed from the basement of a local church.

In the 2000 census it was recorded that 32.3% of the city population subsists below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). It is to this population the services offered by AE are focused, particularly the Nutrition Program.

With little money with which to purchase food, it has been well documented in many sources that low-income families and individuals will tend to turn to less expensive foods with higher fat content and calories and lesser nutritional value, to assuage their hunger.

A study by the California Center for Rural Policy (Investigating Very Low Food Security in the Redwood Coast Region, Patterson and Arsdale 2008) begins “The prevalence of very low food security in the Redwood Coast Region is more than 2 times the prevalence in California”. The study asserts; “Very low food security is a measure of severe food insecurity resulting in reduced food intake, disrupted eating patterns or hunger. Food insecurity is associated with numerous poor health outcomes including: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and poor cognitive, academic and psychosocial outcomes”.

With increasing local layoffs, local employment opportunities have been reduced by 27% since 2007 (Arcata Trends http://www.simplyhired.com/a/local-jobs/city/l-Arcata,+CA). Exhausting Unemployment Insurance Benefits, and all other possible forms of income, 36% of our program participants report no source of income whatsoever. The numbers of individuals that have no other real source of food is growing steadily as the economic picture darkens in this region.
 

The Programs

Both elements of the Nutrition Program provide nutritionally valuable foods for the many low and no income local residents, and for many it is the only source of nutritious foods. Accessing the Nutrition Program provides AE staff the opportunity to offer other services that may be needed, offering opportunities and services to better life circumstances and to take steps towards increased self-sufficiency.

 The availability of this nutritious food source is, in many cases, the highest quality food available for local individuals and families each month. Without Food Pantry and Hot Meal services available locally for well over 500 local households, (including single disabled and/or senior local residents), individuals are placed at risk of developing, or exacerbating existing, health issues. Lack of access to nutritious foods may jeopardize long-term health and well being with interrupted eating patterns, hunger, or assuaging hunger with high-fat, high calorie, low nutritionally valuable foods that are relatively less expensive. Poor health, created by lack of access to nutritional food, impacts local health care providers and hospital emergency rooms with issues presented that could be avoided.
 

Food Pantry

The Food Pantry food box program has been offered by AE since 1977. The program is primarily funded and supported through FEMA grants, Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange grants, and partnership with Food For People. Eligible low-income individuals and households may receive a food box each month to supplement other sources of food for the individual or family. Food boxes typically contain several protein items, sometimes the only quality protein in the monthly diet. Food Boxes are supplemented with fresh produce and bread donated from local grocers, bakeries, restaurants, and farmers, providing vital nutrition low-income individuals may not otherwise have available.  An average of 240 local households access this service monthly.

Accessing the Food Pantry food box program is easy. Local residents may call during the morning hours (9:00am-11:00am) of any weekday-Monday through Friday and make and appointment for the afternoon to pick up their food box. An intake interview with a member of the household is performed during every monthly food box pick up with a to ensure all household information is correct and the food packaged for each household is appropriate for any existing health issues, special diets, and the number of individuals in the household.

Most labor associated with this service is performed by Back to Basics employment readiness program participants under very close staff supervision.
 

Hot Meal

Meals have been served in some capacity or another by AE since 1999. Hot Meal breakfasts are served five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.. Food is donated from local grocers and bakeries and farmers and supplemented by grants from the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange, North Coast Co-Op, and other community grants and donations. Meals are prepared in the commercial kitchen at the ASC and served to local residents. Local identification is required at the time of meal service. For some, these are the only real meals eaten during a week. Clients of this program tend to be local seniors and disabled persons, some of who are our local veterans, low-income families, homeless individuals and families and local university students. The Hot Meal program serves over 30,000 hot meals annually.

Back to Basics (BtB) participants are served three meals on each day they volunteer services or are otherwise participating in program activities. For most BtB program participants meals are accessed five days each week.

Most labor associated with this service is performed by Back to Basics Life Skills & Employment Readiness program participants under very close staff supervision.
 

Support Services

Fees

Phone: 707-822-5008
Email: admin@arcataendeavor.org
501 9th Street, Arcata, CA 95521
We are open Monday to Thursday 9am to 3pm & Fridays 9am to 1pm.

Member Since
2000