118 Monterey County GIVES! 2024 mcgives.com Health, Wellness & Food DONate online mcgives.com tude to Equine Healing Collaborative for being my guardians of healing and companions in reclaiming my voice and freedom.” -Waheda Karzai Food Bank for Monterey County Year Founded: 1990 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 39 paid, 500 volunteers Budget: $30,775,000 758-1523 foodbankformontereycounty.org Big Idea: Food Bank for Monterey County is bringing nutrition to food deserts with its Big Idea: a mobile produce truck and food truck. This mobile service pops up at schools, housing complexes, worksites and other convenient places at convenient times to help families shop and select fresh, healthy and culturally relevant foods. These trucks are stocked with produce grown by first-generation farmers, helping them launch agricultural businesses. As Monterey County’s sole emergency food provider, this nonprofit helps feed more than 25 percent of residents and 1 in 3 children in the county. “I work seven days a week to support my family. The experience of living with food insecurity is embarrassing and hurtful. It makes you feel less than as a mom when you can’t feed your children. I am so very grateful for the Food Bank and the healthy food. It is much more than just food. They are so responsive to situations affecting our community and so supportive. I just think, if you are not eating, how are you going to do well in school? How are you going to be able to work? Honestly, food is the basis of everything.” -Teresa S. Grower-Shipper Foundation Year Founded: 2003 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 1 paid, 120 volunteers Budget: $193,130 422-9007 growershipperfoundation.org Big Idea: The Grower-Shipper Foundation exists to raise awareness of the positive influence of agriculture, including with its Ag Against Hunger efforts. This program diverts high-quality produce that would otherwise decompose in the field post-harvest, by mobilizing volunteers to harvest excess produce grown in the Salad Bowl of the World. This Big Idea, the Ag Against Hunger Gleaning Program, is a volunteer-led way of getting fresh food from the field to local food banks and community groups. This program currently focuses on need in Salinas Valley and Pajaro Valley communities. “The act of gleaning gave me an opportunity not only to harvest excess produce but also to make a difference by donating it to those in need.” -Alicia Cask Healing Partners of the Central Coast Year Founded: 2019 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 8 paid, 36 volunteers Budget: $225,407 (800) 205-8101 hpcchealingtouch.org Big Idea: Healing Partners of the Central Coast offers eight free Healing Touch sessions to cancer patients. This care helps offset the side effects of treatments like chemotherapy, radiation and surgery using its integrative energy therapy. Healing Touch is non-invasive, holistic, risk-free and medication-free and is increasingly used in leading hospitals and cancer centers across the U.S. Donations will help train more Healing Touch providers, expanding services to six more local cancer patients. “The Healing Touch session each week was like putting me back together again after a week of scans, infusions, blood draws and pain. Healing Partners’ service enabled me to relax and receive amazing care from my skilled and compassionate Healing Touch provider. I left each session feeling reassured and re-strengthened for the coming week of my cancer journey.” -Lisa Griffin Burns, board director “I now have a beautiful smile that I can be proud of.” -Glenn Owens, Dentistry4Vets Everyone’s Harvest Year Founded: 2002 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 7 paid, 40 volunteers Budget: $1,156,362 384-6961 everyonesharvest.org Big Idea: For Everyone’s Harvest, “Food is Medicine.” The nonprofit’s suite of Big Idea food-health programs help improve health outcomes through nutrition. With FreshRx, physicians write a prescription for produce at Everyone’s Harvest’s farmers markets in Salinas, Marina, Pacific Grove and Seaside. With Market Match, public food benefits go farther at these markets, increasing the daily maximum match for CalFresh benefits from $10 to $30, enabling people to use CalFresh for more fresh, healthy produce. And beyond the markets, families in need can receive a farm-direct box of fresh produce through Farms Together. “I want to thank all the people who make this program possible for my family. This program is very important because it is helping us get vegetables to our table, and the experience I had at the farmers market was amazing. They have good fruit, vegetables, nuts and also all the people are wonderful and kind. This program is truly a blessing and wonder for my family.” -Rocio Guerrero spotlight
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