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Whether you’re homeless, low-income or just struggling to cover the high price of groceries, Arcata House Partnership invites you to help feed yourself and your family by using the free food pantry in Valley West, which is opening this week. 

Florence Carroll, administrative specialist for Arcata House, told the Outpost that the local nonprofit is concerned that more people will struggle to cover food costs in the coming months, as emergency food assistance programs made available during the pandemic come to an end. 

“With the cost of groceries going up, we’ve seen a lot of food insecurity in the area,” Carroll said in a phone interview Tuesday morning. “Now that emergency allotments are all ending, we’re going to see a lot more food insecurity.”

In 2020, as many people struggled from financial issues compounded by COVID, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act authorized emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding, increasing the amount of state benefits available. For all Calfresh recipients, benefits were boosted to the maximum allowable amount for their household size, or $95 was added to those already receiving the maximum benefits amount. California also introduced the Pandemic-EBT program, which provides benefits for school-age children who would have been receiving free or reduced price meals at school, but didn’t have access during school closures.

Now, with the Federal Public Health Emergency ending on May 11, the Pandemic-EBT program will close out at the end of this school year and CalFresh emergency allotments will end on May 26, leaving around 5 million Californians  to see a dramatic drop in their benefit amounts at a time when food price inflation and the cost of living in California are extremely high. 

This sudden and dramatic loss of benefits has many food banks worried about the impacts, Carroll said, and the California Association of Food Banks warns that “California is facing a catastrophic hunger crisis in 2023.” 

This is why Arcata House Partnership, which already operates a food pantry on Wednesdays, is adding a second food pantry to help those who might be struggling to cover food costs in the coming months. The second food pantry will be in the Arcata House administrative building on Valley West Boulevard. 

Arcata House opened this temporary food pantry for the first time last summer, and Carroll said that it was very useful to the people in the Valley West neighborhood. This year, the nonprofit is expanding the number of weeks the pantry will be open, so that more people can be served. Carroll said it is important to have a food bank location in Valley West, where there are many unhoused people and low income families, who may have a difficult time making it over to the food pantry at the Arcata House Annex in downtown Arcata. 

But Carroll wanted to be clear that this service is not only for homeless or low income folks. Anyone, regardless of their income or housing status, is welcome to come get groceries. All of the food is donated by local grocery stores, which is also helping our area reach its zero-waste goals and come into alignment with California’s organic waste bill, SB 1383. 

“I think it’s good to point out that the food is from overstock from grocery stores,” Carroll said. “So this service also reduces waste.” 

The Valley West Food Pantry will be open at 4677 Valley West Blvd. every Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., starting this Friday, May 5 and ending on Sept. 29. Arcata House’s regular food pantry is open on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Annex, 501 9th Street, Arcata. 

Arcata House is also looking for volunteers to help run the pantry. If you are interested in helping out, call 707-826-4528 ext 104, or email volunteer@arcatahouse.org