Feeding the Foothills (FTF) provides hunger relief across the communities and rural reaches of El Dorado, Nevada and Placer counties. Founded in 1970, the organization — formerly known as Placer Food Bank — updated its name in September 2024 to reflect the breadth of its service area.
“There is a great need in our service area, which is comprised of 52,000+ food insecure individuals, including 12,700 children. We’re committed to providing food access to wherever hunger exists.”— Lisa Heinrich, Director of Development and Communications, FTF
“In 1990, we joined Feeding America and expanded beyond Placer County,” says Lisa Heinrich, director of development and communications. “As the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, Feeding America brings additional resources to make a meaningful impact in our communities. There is a great need in our service area, which is comprised of 52,000+ food insecure individuals, including 12,700 children. We’re committed to providing food access to wherever hunger exists.”
FTF provides nutritious food to neighbors in need by partnering with 80 other hunger relief organizations and through its own programs and direct services, including food assistance to individuals and schools, a mobile service that helps feed low-income seniors, and PantryToGo, a drive-through food distribution program with 10 locations.
“Support from individual donors, the community and corporate partners such as Bank of Marin is vital to our mission and operation,” Heinrich says. “In addition to supporting our programs and services, Bank of Marin’s grants also help maintain our emergency food inventory in the event of wildfires and other natural disasters.”
For more than 15 years, Bank of Marin has provided funding and volunteers to FTF. The Bank’s Regional Manager and FTF board member Lisa Cisneros says, “I’m excited to now be part of FTF’s great mission. The dedication of longtime Executive Director Dave Martinez and the FTF team to transforming lives for decades deeply resonates with me.”
Over the past fiscal year, FTF distributed 11.3 million pounds of food, provided 15.4 million meals and served 1.1 million individuals. FTF is committed to its mission “to ensure that all people have equitable access to nutritious foods.” It will continue to meet those community needs and look to expand capacity as the need for hunger relief grows.
