April 2023
Greetings from your friends at F.I.S.H.
We would like to update you on what is happening with us.
We are busy!
Servings to our clients are up by 20% over this time last year, Currently, we serve about 500 families each week. Additionally, Food Stamp Allotments are being cut back due to the official end of the pandemic emergency. We expect our client visits to increase as a result. Our all-volunteer staff manages to keep F.I.S.H open five days a week.
The pandemic hit us hard. Financial contributions have decreased in each of the past two years. Expenses continue to increase due to our larger client base and inflation. We are cutting expenses by being smarter with our purchases at the Redwood Empire Food Bank. REFB is our most important source of food and our largest monthly expense.
Our fund-raising approach is no longer working well. At current rates of income and expenses, F.I.S.H has enough resources to continue operations through the end of 2023. We are investigating other means to supplement the support we receive from our contributors.
We remain grateful for the financial support we receive from the community. Visit us any time to see the result of your generosity.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Emery, Executive Director