*EVENT UPDATE* Due to overwhelming turnout at the Food Donation and Distribution event, overflow parking has been established for residents attending to receive groceries in order to help alleviate current traffic congestion on West College Avenue. Residents attending for food distribution should park at the Utilities Field Operations Building Parking lot at 35 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa 95401. The event ends at 2 p.m. Individuals dropping off donations to the event should continue to drive directly to the Fire Department Training Tower at 2126 W College Avenue. Donations will be accepted through 2 p.m.

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The City of Santa Rosa, in partnership with ROC Sonoma County, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Community Action Partnership and Santa Rosa Firefighters Local 1401 will be offering another joint food donation and distribution event tomorrow, November 1, 2019 for residents of the City of Santa Rosa impacted by the recent PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) and the Kincade Fire evacuations.

The first two hours of the event will be open to collecting food donations from the public. The following three hours will then open for food distribution to Santa Rosa residents impacted by the power outage and fire evacuations. Details and hours for the event are as follows:

Date:  Friday, November 1, 2019
Location:  Fire Department Training Tower, 2126 West College Avenue, Santa Rosa, 95401
Food Donation Drop-Off Time:  9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Food Items requested:  Milk, eggs, cheese, butter, bread, coffee creamer, condiments, salad dressing, juice, bottled water, fresh fruit, non-perishables, and pet food for dogs and cats.
Food Distribution: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Residents should bring personal bags or boxes to transport food

Volunteers are needed for shifts at the following times to help with accepting and distributing food:

Shift 1: 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Shift 2: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

To volunteer for this event, contact Emily Thiessen ([email protected]) or Jennielynn Holmes ([email protected]; 707-800-2372).

A food donation and distribution event held today, October 31, at Finley Community Center drew over a thousand residents throughout the day – both those brining donations and those coming to replenish their family food supply. Today’s attendance – and the fact that residents in some areas of the City remained without power still today – has informed City officials and non-profit partners that a second event is necessary to continue to support community needs.

“Santa Rosa is all about neighbors helping neighbors – we saw it after the 2017 fires, and we are seeing it now after the events of the last 10 days,” said Mayor Tom Schwedhelm. “Members of our community have been without power for multiple days, and some have had their power shutoff for the second or third now time this month. It’s a burden for many to replenish food lost after these outages, and some residents also need extra help if they experienced lost wages or other impacts as a result of the evacuations. This event is a way to provide a space for people to give back directly to fellow Santa Rosans experiencing hardship following the recent challenges faced by our community.”

Visit the City of Santa Rosa’s website to view alternate food distribution locations hosted by the Redwood Empire Food Bank:  srcity.org/3192/Repopulation-Information