Requests for food spiked this fall after the government shutdown interrupted payments to families receiving assistance from SNAP, which helps feed an estimated 31,000 low-income residents in Shasta County.
And a longtime nonprofit that distributes gifts to needy children, Toys For Tots, withdrew from Shasta County this year.
But new groups are energetically stepping up to fill the void and bring needed help and cheer to people at Christmastime and beyond.
Here’s a sampling of the groups aiming to assist those needing help at the holidays in Shasta County.
Dignity Health Connect Living Food Bank
After the federal government shut down for weeks in October, the Redding area’s main food bank, run by Dignity Health Connected Living, scrambled to keep up with demand because their own government funding for some programs had been trimmed earlier in the year.
The number of people in a pinch who came to the group’s lobby in Redding looking for an emergency food box went from five a day to 30.
The number of phone calls from those seeking information about assistance rose from 60 a week to nearly 300.
All in all, the nonprofit served 1,600 more people than usual during the three-week period that SNAP benefits were restricted, cut or delayed, said Staci Wadley, who directs the food bank.
While the shutdown has ended and SNAP payments have largely been restored, rising prices mean food insecurity remains a problem in the community, said Wadley.
So the bags of food they distribute, which “used to be full,” are now just three-quarters filled due to various government funding cuts and smaller donations than in the past of surplus items from grocery stores, according to Joe Ayer, executive director of Dignity Health Connected Living, which runs the food bank and other assistance services.
Rising food prices due to inflation have also led shoppers to cut back. With falling demand, groceries are buying less and therefore have less surplus food to hand out to assistance groups, he said.
Added Ayer: “I think that goes for food banks across the state, for sure …. Food banks are all feeling that pinch of not having as much food on their shelves to distribute.”
Rising numbers at Good News Rescue Mission’s dining room
The Good News Rescue Mission in Redding said the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners being served during the first half of November is up 30% over the same period in October.
“We went from averaging about 600 meals each day to averaging 800 meals each day,” said Justin Wandro, director of community partnerships at the homeless shelter.
There’s also been a 20% jump in the number of families attending the mission’s weekly food giveaway on Fridays, when anyone in need can come get a bag or two of food.
“We usually serve about 100 families each week and this month we’re seeing 120 to 130 families each week,” said Wandro.
Volunteer Sheree Topete places donated soup, beans and other foods on a shelf at a pop-up distribution site in Redding where ONE Safe Place will distribute Christmas toys, clothing and other items to its clients during the holidays.
The Friday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 21, the mission aimed to give out 500 Thanksgiving food boxes with a turkey and all of the sides needed to make a full holiday dinner, he said. “All 500 of these boxes were registered for within three days of opening registration, the fastest we’ve ever seen sign-ups fill up,” said Wandro.
And on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving, they anticipated serving more than 800 traditional turkey meals at their annual Thanksgiving banquet, assisted by hundreds of volunteers.
Typically the dinner plates include turkey, helpings of traditional mashed potatoes, vegetables, stuffing and, of course, a dollop of tart, red cranberry sauce.
Said Wandro: “Anyone is welcome to join us for the meal, no sign-ups required, just show up.” Lunch is served at 11 a.m. and noon and dinner at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
SNAP snarl prompts new type of assistance from United Way
The wind-down of the federal SNAP shutdown didn’t solve financial insecurity for some in the North State. Rent, utilities, daycare fees, housing costs and other essential needs must still be met, nonprofit advocates said.
Earlier in November, the nonprofit United Way of Northern California began offering a $100 gift card in partnership with the Sierra Health Foundation private philanthropy group to help people in need who live in Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity counties.
The 400 gift cards worth $100 each will be distributed throughout the nonprofit’s 9-county region. “We would love to be able to provide more at a higher dollar mark,” said Matt Plotkin, director of equity and resilience for United Way of Northern California. “It’s just a matter of us finding the philanthropic partners to provide us the opportunity to continue to provide and expand beyond that.”
Food pantries were overwhelmed shortly after the shutdown began, he said. One church in Tehama County asked to be removed from United Way’s 2-1-1 help referral line because they were “so overwhelmed” they could not provide their expected level of resources for the holidays, said Plotkin.
“We’re going to continue to see a ripple effect of the government shutdown and SNAP benefits being interrupted. All this does is highlight the food insecurity in the counties we live in,” he said, adding, “we don’t have enough within the social safety net of nonprofits to meet the need.”
Community members can fill out the intake form online at norcalunited.co/2025SNAPEFA or call 2-1-1 for assistance with the application process.
Blue Santa makes house calls
Imagine a Santa clad in blue from head to toe who delivers toys and other goods to kids from less-fortunate families.
That’s Operation Blue Santa, which has surprised Redding youngsters since 1991.
The Redding Police Department oversees the holiday feel-good gift-giving mission, in partnership with the Redding Peace Officers Association labor union.
The program assists “families with children that might not otherwise have a Christmas,” said Hailey Gilmore, a Redding Police Department employee and co-director of Operation Blue Santa.
The Redding Police Department oversees Operation Blue Santa in partnership with the Redding Peace Officers Association labor union. Students who get gifts through the program, in place since 1991, are nominated by staff at their schools.
School resource officers with the agency connect with staff at area schools, who nominate students up to age 17 from families who are in need.
The gifts amount to about $200 per family, made possible by donations from individuals and businesses to Operation Blue Santa.
This year, 15 students and their families will receive help, about half of the families that got recommended. “We read through each nomination,” said Gilmore. “We wish we could pick every single family. They’re all heartwarming.”
After selecting the students, Gilmore and Crysta Cardoza contact their parents or guardians and go over their wants and needs for the year. Based on that, an RPD staffer shops for the family. Depending on the family, that could include warm winter jackets and rainboots, in addition to Barbie dolls or Hot Wheels cars the student might request.
Items are also included for other children in the selected families, including babies, said Gilmore. “As the economy gets harder and things get more expensive, there’s definitely more need to help families out.”
“We also provide Christmas stockings, stuffed animals, a grocery gift card. Just anything that really is going to make their Christmas more joyful,” she said.
Pop-up help site offering displaced families food, toys
Families already in crisis due to violence are experiencing more needs, said Elizabeth Schroeder, chief development officer for ONE Safe Place, which offers services including a homeless shelter for victims of domestic violence.
“Obviously around the holidays, the clients that we serve across ONE Safe Place and Arch Collaborative, they have unique challenges going into the holidays, because of displacement from their homes or just other challenges,” Schroeder said.
“But this year, because of the SNAP benefits kind of food insecurity, it just adds another layer and we’ve just seen an increase in single-family households that have crisis or significant trauma. What we’re seeing is that when there are financial strains, that that kind of bleeds into every area,” she said.
Volunteers helped the organization set up its annual holiday store in Redding by sorting a wide range of donated toys and gifts so adults who are their clients can shop for their youngsters using a point system, said Schroeder.
In late November, as donations kept coming in, volunteers were sorting a wide variety of gifts, including books, bicycles, skateboards, kid-sized fishing rods, Legos, Barbie dolls, Hula Hoops and board games, among other goodies.
They’re especially in need of anything that teenagers would like, officials with the effort said on Monday, Nov. 24.
The setup “allows us to have clients shop with dignity,” Schroeder said. “They can choose something for their child instead of having a wrapped gift placed under their tree and the parent doesn’t know what their kid is opening or doesn’t know if it’s appropriate for their child or the thing that that kid would love.”
Between ONE Safe Place and the other nonprofit groups that are assisting them, just over 100 families are expected to be able to shop in the holiday store. The location will be open to their clients between Dec. 2 and Dec. 20, Schroeder said.
Michele Chandler covers dining, food, public safety and whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at [email protected]. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Government shutdown recedes but holiday needs remain in Shasta County
