LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County CAN! and the Lake County Fair are partnering this summer to assist in the response to the impacts local residents have suffered from the Rocky and Jerusalem wildland fires.
For several years Lake County CAN! has sponsored food drives around the county to stock food pantries in each community around Clear Lake.
They have done this because of the crippling poverty and food insecurity of so many Lake County residents: 23 percent of Lake County residents are now living in poverty; that is almost one in four.
The numbers are even worse for children: 33 percent, or one in three children in Lake County, are living in outright poverty while another 39 percent are so close they are food insecure. A total of 72 percent of the county's children qualify for free lunches when school is in session.
The Rocky and Jerusalem Fires have taxed the county's support systems even further, and Lake County CAN! and its partners are stepping up to help.
Through many generous donations – such as the recent $3,000 Grocery Outlet donation to the United Christian Parish food pantry – the north county food pantries are meeting the needs as presented.
Now, in the wake of the fires, the Lake County CAN! is turning its attention south.
This year the priority of the group's food drive at the Lake County Fair is to stock the food pantries in the fire impact areas first.
In past years there has been a two-hour window to donate food in exchange for free entry.
This year, there will be no free entry but you can donate food during the entire fair.
On the Monday following the fair Lake County CAN! volunteers will come and sort the food and deliver it directly to the food pantries in the fire impacted areas.
If Lake County is so generous that the south country pantries are overstocked, Lake County CAN! Is prepared to distribute the food to additional pantries around the lake, such as the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, Kelseyville Presbyterian and Kelseyville United Methodist Church pantry, and United Christian Parish in Lakeport.
Here is how you can help: Bring your nonperishable food items to the Lake County Fair from Thursday, Sept. 3, to Sunday, Sept. 6, at any time the fair is open.
Items they are asking for particularly include peanut butter and jelly, Bisquick and pancake mix, canned tuna and chicken, and any canned soups or stews.
Lake County CAN! believes that, by neighbors helping neighbors, the community can overcome the impacts of the fires and the county's poverty.
Lake County CAN! to partner with Lake County Fair to aid fire victims
- Lake County News reports
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