Chico Food Project Celebrates Ten Years of Providing for our Community

Blue Bag Bounty

In 2011, three strangers came together and unexpectedly joined forces to lead a community wide movement combating hunger. It was serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. This is the perfect descriptor of how The Chico Food Project came to be. Unbeknownst to each other, three women expressed a common desire to help secure food for those who need it. These three strangers became friends and founders of a vital, flourishing, and robust non-profit that has fed our community beyond expectations for the past ten years.

THE BEGINNING

Ten or eleven years ago, Fran Kenkle, a longtime Chicoan, heard about a newly formed food collection and distribution non-profit in Paradise called “A Simple Gesture.” She loved the premise that, over the course of two months, donors fill a green tote with non-perishable food. The totes are collected on a designated Saturday, and each donor is given an empty bag for the next cycle. The donated food is then given to various local food banks. She called the founder, Jonathan Trivers, to see if she could participate from Chico. He let her know that A Simple Gesture was exclusively for Paradise residents, and he encouraged her to start another chapter in Chico. She laughed recounting that conversation, “I wanted to volunteer, but starting a non-profit wasn’t on my list.” Two other women, Wendy Smith and Elena Carmon, had coincidentally also phoned Trivers to participate as donors in Chico and had the same response from him. Trivers connected the women, getting them started down the path that would become The Chico Food Project.

In their work as a foster care social worker, teacher, and nurse, respectively, Fran, Wendy, and Elena knew from firsthand experiences that a portion of our population was food insecure. “We were all very interested in helping at risk families and trying to make sure kids had food,” said Fran. Food insecurity is defined by the USDA as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” According to 2019 data from Feeding America, out of 58 counties in California, Butte County ranks as having the 12th highest rate of food insecurity at 14.4% of our population. This number is 40% higher than the average for California counties and 32% higher than the national average. Once this trio of local women were connected, they realized that together they could make a real difference by forming something like A Simple Gesture in Chico.

BUILDING THE PROJECT

Under the tutelage of Trivers, the trio began to formulate the structure of the new non-profit they named The Chico Food Project (CFP). “It was interesting because we all brought different things to the table,” Fran recalled. The plan was to model CFP after the Paradise program with a slight variation. A Simple Gesture in Paradise recruits the bulk of its donors from local churches, but the founders wanted CFP to be more mainstream with outreach for participation to the entire community. Funding to start the Chico project was secured with donations from local service clubs like The Chico Breakfast Lions, Soroptimist International, and The Discovery Shop. North Valley Community Foundation assisted in the process of establishing non-profit status and continues to maintain an account for CFP to receive donations that pay the bills. Blue tote bags were designed and printed, brochures were made, a website and Facebook page were created. “It felt amazing that we got it off the ground! That first year was a lot of learning with John steering us in the right direction,” said Fran. CFP officially launched in October of 2012 with about 200 donors. Ten years later, there are 1,000 donors who provide between 10-15,000 pounds of donated food, each collection cycle.

HOW IT WORKS

Just like A Simple Gesture, CFP collects bags of donated non-perishables six times annually from the front porches of generous Chico donors. Residents can sign up to become a blue bag donating home by filling out the form inside the CFP brochure, by visiting the website, or by sending a message on the Facebook page. CFP explains the process as three easy steps, shop, store, and set out. Suzanne Lim, a driver for CFP since inception, explained that people approach filling their bags uniquely. “Since it’s only every other month, people have time. If something is on sale, some people will pick up two and put one in the blue bag. Others take the bag to the store and fill it in one trip,” she said. She added that many give more than one bag full, especially around the holidays. Fran affirmed, “I am always amazed at people’s generosity.”

The roomy blue totes are equipped with a tag that lists all the dates of the pickup Saturdays to make it easy for people to mark their calendars. On the reverse side of the tag is a list of “most needed items,” which changes depending on the time of year. Staples like canned goods, peanut butter, pasta, and cereal are always on the list. As the holidays approach, the list will include things like stuffing, canned pumpkin, and baking ingredients. Nonetheless, all non-perishable, unexpired food items are welcome and happily accepted for distribution.

THE VOLUNTEERS

It takes a literal village to orchestrate the process of planning for blue bag pickup and food disbursement. “We spend about three weeks prior, mapping, getting organized, preparing empty bags, and sending out reminders,” said Fran. One volunteer, Bob Irvine, is the map master who not only creates the routes for each driver but also makes sure to add new donors as they sign up. The project currently has 42 collection routes and more than 80 volunteers. On collection morning, the volunteers begin the day setting up tables in the parking lot of Saint John’s Episcopal Church. Drivers arrive, receive their maps and replacement blue bags, and set off on their route. Drivers generally work in pairs, with one at the wheel and the other navigating and hopping out to grab full bags, leaving an empty on each porch. Th e volunteer drivers are very dedicated, with many volunteering for years. Fran said the longtime drivers get attached to their routes and the donors.

“It’s such a great program and so easy. It only takes about two hours to do the driving and pick up the bags,” said CFP driver Suzanne.

National Charity League, which is a mother and daughter service club, is always among the volunteers and service groups in the parking lot who retrieve the blue bags from the trunks of the volunteer drivers. “Some of the bags are heavy! The girls get a good workout,” said Fran. As the donations are pulled from trunks, they are quickly allocated to the waiting trunks and trucks of the organizations that will distribute the food over the course of the next two months. “It all runs like clockwork nowadays, thanks to all the helpers and volunteers,” said Fran.

THE IMPACT

A quick Google search estimates that one thousand pounds of food translates to approximately 843 meals. In August 2022, CFP collected a record 16,000 pounds of donations, which amount to more than 12,000 meals for people in Chico. The impact is undeniable. The Chico Food Locker has been a major partner with CFP from the beginning. In 2012, when CFP first approached the Food Locker, its shelves were regularly bare. The need since that time has only increased. Chico Food Bank volunteer Linda Kerch interjected that the clients at the food bank are diverse.

“There is a misunderstanding in Chico that food pantries serve only homeless, but that isn’t true,” Fran said. “It’s a real mix.”

Kathy Lanphir, the Director of The Chico Food Locker said the deficit that the blue bags fill is clear. “The food after blue bags pickup is amazing. There is food everywhere!” Despite the every other month influx, supplies don’t always last in between. “Last month, just before the blue bags, we were low and had to go out and purchase pasta to give away,” shared Kathy.

The Chico Food Project is clearly making a big difference in our community. If you are interested in adding a serving of serendipity to your life, consider signing up to become a donor or to volunteer for The Chico Food Project.

Bluebags@chicofoodproject.org
facebook.com/ChicoFoodProject
530-230-7232