Community Resource Center (CRC) Uses Rancho Santa Fe Fund to Deal with Looming Food Shortage
Tickets: $75 each
VIP Table Packages: $1,000
(Reserved seating for 8 guests with select wines and extras) Tickets are available online at http://www.crcncc.org or by phone at 760.230.6305.)
Community Resource Center’s 29th Annual Holiday Baskets Program is the largest comprehensive holiday distribution program of its kind in San Diego County, and expects record registration requests among North County families this year. However, current food shortages at CRC could force dramatic cuts in the numbers served at Holiday Baskets this December.
“We serve over 9,000 individuals a year through our food, shelter, and domestic violence programs, and the current food crisis is having a ripple effect on everything we do for the community,” says Laurin Pause, CRC Executive Director. Federal budget cuts have significantly reduced food allotments nationwide to distribution centers like CRC. The agency has struggled to keep pantry shelves stocked, and has been unable to stockpile supplies of food for Holiday Baskets and other emergency distributions. “San Diego County still has not received its federal allotments for food distribution to households in crisis, and when we do get it, we expect a twenty five-percent reduction in the allotment. It’s not looking good.” This news comes on the right as CRC begins its planning for the renowned Holiday Basket’s Program which distributed more than 48 tons of food to local families in need last year.
For the first time since the endowment fund was established at the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, CRC has decided to withdraw earnings to help bridge the gap. “It’s not ideal, but we feel compelled to access our auxiliary funds to ensure our food supplies remain adequate in the face of these reduced allotments. If CRC doesn’t do this, there’s nowhere else in our community these struggling families can turn to. We are it.”
In 2010, over 200 groups and organizations and more than 1,600 volunteers come together to brighten the holidays for over 1,400 households through CRC’s Holiday Baskets program. A total of 6,400 individuals were served by the annual program, with children accounting for roughly half of those served. CRC manages year-round programs for food and rental assistance as well as a comprehensive domestic violence services program that includes Carol’s House, a confidentially located shelter in North County.
CRC’s annual fall fundraising event will take place in Rancho Santa Fe this year, and is part of the organization’s effort to bring critical funding to its programs. The event, “Autumn Equinox – September Soiree in Rancho Santa Fe,” will take place at Villa de Flores and aptly promotes themes of harvest and passage. Autumn Equinox includes an array of auction packages, hors d'oeuvres, wine, and much more.
