Imperial Valley Food Bank

The food insecurity rate in the Imperial County is estimated to be 17% for all residents. Tragically, it is 33% for Imperial County children. These rates remain one of the worst in the nation and the highest for childhood hunger in the state of California.

We know that alleviating hunger can strengthen the community as a whole. If people have enough nutritious food to eat then kids learn more at school, people are sick less often, workers are more productive, crime declines and the cycle of poverty can end its vicious spiral.

Our aim is to ensure all residents have access to nutritionally valuable food.

The Imperial Valley Food Bank has a host of programs that address food security in Imperial County.

The Imperial Valley Food Bank distributes food throughout the Imperial Valley in two main ways: by providing food to agencies and churches that distribute food for their neighbors and by a direct service Mobile Food Pantry, operated by the IV Food Bank, that serves the areas of the Valley where there are not partner agencies.

The Weekend Backpack Program provides a solution to weekend hunger. Teachers identify the most at-risk students who are then given food to fill their backpacks on Fridays when they leave school.

While we are proud to distribute a wide variety of healthy food, we know that there is great dignity in a person being able to purchase and choose their own. That is why we have staff that specialize in helping people navigate the process to apply for CalFresh (SNAP).