Food bank, other groups to get $2 million in pandemic relief funds

The Solano County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a measure that will allow coronavirus pandemic relief money to be re-directed to a number of community food groups in the Solano County area.

Originally, six local charities and not-for-profit groups had applied for a slice of the $2 million pot that county officials were considering as part of the move. By the time the measure was up for discussion, two organizations withdrew their request, so they could be considered for funds from a different measure.

Of the remaining four groups, only the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano had their request filled in full. The organization will receive $500,000 in pandemic relief funds.

The other groups — Meals on Wheels, Food is Free Solano and Catholic Charities of Yolo-Solano — will receive a portion of their grant request:

• Meals on Wheels, which requested $1.46 million, will receive around $1.05 million,
• Catholic Charities of Yolo-Solano will get $100,000, about one-third of the $305,000 requested, and
• Food is Free Solano will receive $347,000, a little less than half of the $798,000 sought.

Supervisors appeared to scrutinize the three charities a little closer than the food bank, questioning whether the money would be spent on food and how the community would benefit from the funding.

An additional $3 million of pandemic relief money was approved for the newly-created Solano County Housing Trust Fund, which is intended to bankroll projects targeting housing for low- to moderate-income individuals and families. As part of the initiative, county officials say the program will help push forward programs to curb homelessness and a lack of affordable housing, primarily in unincorporated parts of Solano County.