Founded in 1974 to support Elk Grove’s food insecure neighbors in need, Elk Grove Food Bank Services (EGFBS) today is more critical to Elk Grove and surrounding populations than ever. With a mission to provide essential resources to overcome the many faces of hunger and human need, EGFBS distributed more than 2.7 million pounds of food — the equivalent of more than 1 million meals — in 2022.

“EGFBS does more than help with food — it provides a serving of hope to promote self-sufficiency and a critical lifeline for our most vulnerable populations, seniors and children.”
— Marie Jachino
Executive Director

Backed by about 700 dedicated volunteers, EGFBS serves more than 14,000 people each month, 25 percent of whom are children, 50 percent are adults and 25 percent are adults over 60. “We serve people in need, from working families and single mothers to our most vulnerable population of struggling seniors on fixed incomes,” says Executive Director Marie Jachino. “Our client numbers increased substantially during Covid and have skyrocketed with the current inflation, but we’re on pace to keep serving record numbers.” EGFBS offers wraparound services including emergency food distribution; USDA Food and Commodity Supplemental Food Program for Seniors; seven mobile food distribution sites; mobile food distribution to migrant farm workers; mobile food distribution to three elementary schools in the EGUSD; home delivery to housebound seniors and medically fragile clients; Cathy’s Clothes Closet; CalFresh (food stamps) application assistance; pet pantry; and the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive.

Critical to keeping pace with growing need, EGFBS received a $4 million grant in 2019, which enabled them to build a 9,900- square-foot warehouse with 600 square feet of cold storage. The facility, completed in 2022, greatly enhances EGFBS’s ability to operate their programs.

EGFBS’s food comes from donations, food drives, grants and purchasing. Ninety-four percent of every donated dollar goes directly to programs and services. “Every dollar donated provides up to two meals,” Jachino says. “We will be celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2024, and it would be impossible to do what we do without the support of our community, donors and partners and volunteers who make this happen.”