THE NECESSARY ECONOMIC EMERGENCY DISTRIBUTION SERVICES CENTER INC
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Needs Center serves a vulnerable population, mostly low income, homeless, and seniors. Food insecurity is a major obstacle to our clients, who do not possess the means to purchase enough food to feed their families and often struggle to find the money to pay for fresh quality food. This population lives month to month and has no safety net, no savings, and for many of the seniors, no family to step in when there is a problem. We strive to provide food to supplement their purchases and to provide quality fresh foods to help ensure their health remains good. We offer help with utility payments or rental assistance, not just for low income, but for families who have suffered loss of employment from our declining oil production. Unemployment is higher in Taft than in Kern County and fewer jobs remain. Several major employers, such as Chevron, have moved out of the area and sent many employees to other states. KMart closed down and both prisons.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Emergency Food Program
Emergency food is given to a family based on family size and will provide food for approximately one week.
Pantry Food Program
Weekly food supplement to low income families.
Emergency Food and Shelter Program
Payments for utilities and rent.
Where we work
External reviews
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The purpose of The N.E.E.D.S. Center is to provide the basic necessities of food, assistance with payment for rent/utilities, temporary lodging, medical care, and prescriptions, and nutritional counseling to individuals and families in Taft and surrounding communities in Westside Kern County. A hot meal is provided twice a week. Donated clothing and household items are provided free to all clients. The Center is open Mondays and Fridays, 8:00 AM-1:00 PM, Tuesday-Thursday by appointment.
We are working towards ensuring food security for all clients. We are partnering with Taft Community Gardens to help people grow their own food and looking for other partnerships to help families thrive.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Partnerships with other agencies and nonprofits.
Finding new programs to offer services, such as work programs, growing food, financial security education and other tools to empower our clients and help them move up the economic ladder.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We are a volunteer organization with a strong financially savvy board. We have the ability to add the programs to meet our goals should we find the grant or program to finance it.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We were able to write successful grant applications which are better positioning us for the future.
We added additional sources of food donations that will be ongoing and are allowing us to supply our clients with additional healthy food.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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THE NECESSARY ECONOMIC EMERGENCY DISTRIBUTION SERVICES CENTER INC
Board of directorsas of 10/17/2022
Mr. Dale Countryman
Retired Educator
Term: 2017 - 2024
Donna McNamara
Retired Banking
Virginia Luper
Accountant
Eileen Stanley
Retired Business
Jackie Peevyhouse
Retired Teacher
Christine Bryan
Business Owner
Dale Countryman
Retired Educator
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/17/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
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