$1.6M In Grants To CoCo Agencies Easing The Pain Of Coronavirus

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY — The helpers are getting some much-needed help as coronavirus misery grinds on toward the end of the year.

Contra Costa County community groups responding to needs ranging from food to shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic have received $1.6 million in grants from the Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation, in partnership with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

The 44 community organizations received grants from $10,000 to $50,000 from the health foundation's COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund to target needs in food supply and distribution, shelter and emergency housing, financial assistance, public health interventions and other emerging needs including support for essential workers.

Following the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order in mid-March, the health foundation launched its COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund. "The grantees moved quickly to disperse the funds into the community providing immediate assistance to those affected by COVID-19," said Bette Felton, Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation's board chairwoman, in a statement.

"In addition to the five areas of need, we also focused on finding organizations that worked with marginalized communities, as well as those that could provide service to residential facilities for elders and people with disabilities," Felton said.

With so many Contra Costa residents losing their jobs or working fewer hours as a result of the pandemic, hunger became an immediate concern, and local food banks noticed the change.

The grant, Kim Castaneda said, came at a critical time.

"In early April, the number of individuals collecting food skyrocketed, food prices went up, shortages were common, and we lost all of our corporate volunteer groups," said Castaneda, development director of the Concord-based Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.

"This timely infusion of funds helped us overcome these challenges and ensured we had enough food to meet the community need."

Based on survey data from the grant recipients, nearly 190,000 Contra Costa County residents received food support this year. Another 2,500 received financial aid, and close to 70,000 were helped with other needs created by the pandemic.

Shelter and emergency housing were also supported through the grants.

"The (foundation) grant helped us provide free emergency shelter to 26 babies and young children," said Kimberly Baptista, development director for Bay Area Crisis Nursery. "The grant also made it possible for us to provide over 100 families in the Bay Area with food, diapers, formula, toiletries, and clothes during this challenging time."

Here is a complete list of the Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation grant recipients.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.

— Patch editor Bea Karnes and Bay City News contributed to this story