From Food Locker to Community Food Hub: Rancho Cordova Prioritizes Dignity and Choice.

What happens when a small church ministry evolves into a vital community resource amidst a global pandemic? Join me as I uncover the unimaginable journey of the Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub, led by its first Executive Director, Carrie Johnson. You'll learn how Carrie tackled the daunting challenge of professionalizing a grassroots organization, enhancing its financial health, expanding leadership, and upgrading facilities. Her swift and strategic actions helped navigate a skyrocketing demand, with the Food Hub stepping up to support nearly 600 families a day, especially veterans and seniors facing the end of pandemic benefits and soaring costs.

Experience the innovation of a no-cost grocery store that champions dignity and choice, all while challenging outdated food distribution systems. Carrie shares the ambitious vision of a grocery store that values cultural and dietary preferences, aiming to reshape the way communities address food insecurity. Through stories of community collaboration and resilience, discover how supportive social services become a cornerstone in fostering dignity and hope for those most in need, all while transforming lives and strengthening the community fabric.

Explore the cutting-edge strategies employed by Carrie and her team to ensure the sustainability of the Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub. By merging solar energy initiatives, rentable spaces, and partnerships with many collaborative parties, the Food Hub is setting new standards in nonprofit revenue generation. As former guests become integral volunteers and staff, we witness a powerful cycle of empowerment and inclusion. The episode also shines a light on a broader network of food banks committed to battling food insecurity, reinforcing the notion that community support, hope, and compassion can drive a statewide and even national movement. 

For more information about the Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub visit the website: https://www.ranchocordovafoodlocker.org/

Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ranchocordovafoodlocker/                            Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ranchocordovafoodlocker/
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/89492550/admin/dashboard/

Articles:
https://www.biziournals.com/sacramento/news/2025/07/21/rancho-cordova-communitv-food-hub-
building.html
https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2025/02/04/rancho-cordova-food-lockers-new-community-hub-is-
reaching-for-higher-ambitions-around-dignity-while-providing-for

Thank you so much for listening to this nonprofit story! We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates and newsletter. https://www.nonprofpod.com/ And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode of one of our incredible local nonprofit organizations. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.

Transcript

Carrie Johnson: [00:00:00] Our staff went in, loaded up a grocery cart and we brought them out to her. I saw that there was a, a young child in the car and I said, do you also need diapers? We're a diaper depot. And then she really started to cry. She goes, are you kidding? I said, no. She goes, I've never been in this position ever in my life.

She goes, I have a full-time job. My husband just went from full-time to part-time six months ago. We just had to start paying out of pocket on our own. Something has to give and it's food, and I can't let my kids go hungry.

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Here, our purpose and passion are simple to highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each episode is a chance for these organizations to tell their story in their words, sharing not just what they do, but why it matters to the people they serve, to their supporters, and to all [00:01:00] of us who believe in the power of community.

Through podcasting, we hope to amplify their voices, inspire connection, and give them one more tool to reach the hearts of donors, partners, and neighbors alike. This work is made possible through the generous support of our founding partners captrust, offering fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations serving Sacramento, Roseville, and Folsom, and online@captrust.com.

And Western Health Advantage, a local not-for-profit health plan that believes healthcare is more than coverage. It's about caring From supporting the American Heart Association to making arts and wellness accessible for all. Western Health Advantage truly delivers healthcare with heart. Learn more@westernhealth.com.

I'm proud to welcome our newest partner, core executive leadership and comprehensive support services. Working in it so you can work on it. Visit cx OR [00:02:00] e.com. This episode is about something unique. Taking place in a community that's fast, becoming as progressive as the programs within the Rancho Cordova Food Locker.

Soon to become the Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub is rewriting the playbook on how we support families facing food insecurity. For more than 35 years, the organization operated quietly as a small church ministry. But in 2021, as the pandemic exposed deep cracks in the region's safety net, the city of Rancho Cordova stepped in and launched a full scale effort to build a sustainable, modern, dignified model of service.

Enter Kerry Johnson. The first executive director in the organization's history, in just three years, she has led a sweeping transformation from paper only processes and an annual budget of $52,000 to a $1.4 million operation serving up to [00:03:00] 600 families a day. But the heart of this story isn't the numbers, it's the shift in humanity.

Carrie has championed a new paradigm. Treating every guest as a neighbor, honoring dignity and choice, and building a place where families can shop for food just as they would at any other grocery store. Join me as Carrie shares the journey behind this innovative model, the powerful stories of the people they serve, and why.

A simple shift from lines and handouts to choice and respect might be the future of food access everywhere. Kerry Johnson, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. 

Carrie Johnson: Thank you so much, Jeff. I'm excited to be here. 

Jeff Holden: And what incredible timing with so much that you've got going on the Rancho Cordova Food Locker soon to be the Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub.

Yes. Is a well established organization. It's been around for 35 plus years, but the irony is they've never [00:04:00] had an executive director. Until you came along. 

Carrie Johnson: That's correct. It started out as a church ministry, as many of the food pantries, food lockers, and food banks have done across the country. That's where the origin of.

Distributing food and helping people that were hungry started. And over time, more and more organizations became nonprofits or churches grew that were part of Catholic Charities, and they have a long history of supporting people that are hungry. But as the pandemic was rolling through, it became very clear to the city of Rancho Cordova that this organization really needed to be shored up and made sure it was a sustainable organization to support the community.

So. It went from being a church ministry to a 5 0 1 C3 in 2021 with a small board of trustees and one part-time employee. At that time, the city recognized its importance, as I mentioned. And so they did a feasibility study on the sustainability of the organization. And one of the things that really came out was it had no executive leadership, so they [00:05:00] recommended that a executive leader executive director was hired.

Mm-hmm. And, and then plus a whole plethora of other things like facility improvements and fundraising and need 

Jeff Holden: todos 

Carrie Johnson: uhhuh, a long list of need todos. There were five of those. Um, 

Jeff Holden: oh, wow. So you actually did have that when you came? 

Carrie Johnson: I, I, I was handed a report when I came in. 

Jeff Holden: Wonderful. 

Carrie Johnson: Five key areas, financial strength, leadership, facilities, improvements, becoming part, we were already part of Sac Food Bank's network, but we were not using their data system called Oasis to track, and I don't like the word track.

To 

Jeff Holden: monitor. 

Carrie Johnson: Monitor the number of folks that we were serving. We were serving. Mm-hmm. We were not using that system. It was all on paper. So like 

Jeff Holden: spreadsheets. Maybe not even spreadsheet, not even spreadsheets. I would say, oh my goodness, 

Carrie Johnson: say I inherited 22 boxes of paper. 

Jeff Holden: Wow. Of data. 

Carrie Johnson: It was crazy. So yes, there was a real clear path forward, which was very helpful.

And so the first thing they did was hire an executive director, and that was me. 

Jeff Holden: Well, [00:06:00] congratulations. Thank you. The first ever in 35 years. 

Carrie Johnson: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: So Carrie, you had five items that you were handed when you walked in the door. Which is nice because it does give you that transition opportunity, especially as a new executive director.

Mm-hmm. To know that there's an expectation list that you can work from and start to build and develop. How long did it take you to even start to assess and get to wherever you need to be? 

Carrie Johnson: Well, number one was done really easy. That was hiring of my position, so they checked that off the list for me. And then the four other areas I was able to complete in a record amount of time.

In one year, I was able to get the facilities up to standard. Wow. Um, get our financials more professionalized. We brought in a controller. We started fundraising significantly for the very first time that year, and we hired additional staff. 

Jeff Holden: That's, that's amazing. 

Carrie Johnson: You know what it was, it was kind of a have to.

When I started, I didn't have any experience in the food insecurity space. I didn't know anything about food banking. I had a long [00:07:00] history of working in nonprofits. Mm-hmm. So I understood nonprofit leadership. I also live in Rancho Cordova. My children went to St. John vni church and to school there. So I knew the community very, very well.

We've lived there for 40 years, so I felt very ingrained in the community and I really wanted to see if we could make a difference with this. And I realized. Of the growing numbers and the need that we had to fix the system for us quickly. 

Jeff Holden: And that's a perfect segue to the next question. Every organization I've had on that services, those with food insecurity have just exploded.

You know, the numbers have, in some cases 30, 40, 50 doubled. Mm-hmm. Year over year and certainly since the pandemic. 

Carrie Johnson: Absolutely. Which 

Jeff Holden: is where we saw the big uptick. But it didn't recede. After the pandemic, it went higher. 

Carrie Johnson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: What's happening in Rancho Cordova? 

Carrie Johnson: When I started in 2022, we were serving 80 families a day, three times a week.

Today, well, let's go back. Mid October, we [00:08:00] were serving 450 to 500 a day. Now that number's creeping up on 600 due to the Snap crisis. 

Jeff Holden: So in less than three years, from 80 to 500, 

Carrie Johnson: correct. 

Jeff Holden: It's a compounding geometric, 

Carrie Johnson: it really is 

Jeff Holden: issue. 

Carrie Johnson: And I think there were a couple things that came into play. One was awareness of the service by the community for the folks who needed us.

Mm-hmm. So that caused a little bit of a spike, which is exactly our intention, right? Yes. To be available to the people that need us. So that. Caused some of our growth, but also at the same time with the economy and the cost of food pandemic benefits had gone away and people were really struggling.

Mm-hmm. Really struggling. And so we saw it growing, especially with our veterans and senior population. 

Jeff Holden: And we've heard the senior population, one of most impacted both for food insecurity and housing at this point too. Mm-hmm. Because they're just being priced out of everything They are. They're on fixed 

Carrie Johnson: incomes.

They're, they're not getting an increase in there. You know, their, their [00:09:00] income and they're seeing cost of living skyrocket. They may, yeah. Not to mention medical costs and medical costs, food costs, they may own their home. Mm-hmm. A lot of the, we have a lot of veteran families in the Rancho Cord, Rancho Cordova area coming from Mayer.

They've lived their 50, 60 years, but they've outlived their pensions now. 

Mm. 

And so that fixed income. They can't go anywhere else. They have to stay in their house. Right? But, you know, property taxes are higher, everything's higher for them. And so we're a resource for that. It's the only population that stays with us over time.

And what I mean by that is they're coming to us continuously. Most people who visit our food locker come to us for a short period of time, anywhere from three to six months. While life is hard, they've lost a job. They've had, you know, a, a car issue. So. Income has, has been affected. Mm-hmm. So they come to us for that period of time, and then they move on.

They don't stay long term with us. Mm-hmm. We're there for folks that are struggling in that gap when things are hard 

Jeff Holden: and providing them a sense of dignity and understanding as they come as [00:10:00] well. Which we're gonna get into in just a second because you've got something so very, very cool coming up. But I do wanna ask you a little bit, because this food insecurity issue is something that it's really an invisible.

Crisis. Oh my God. Because you don't see it. You know, they have a house, they have a car, they go back and forth to work. They have children in school, but that's all they can afford. Mm-hmm. And let's say rent goes up, or property taxes, as you mentioned, go up, gas prices go up. That's the tipping point. Mm-hmm.

They have to give something up and in many cases it's food. 

Carrie Johnson: It typically is food. And I, I love that you asked that. Um, I think for the public, and I was guilty of this when I started there, I had a perception of who might come to a food locker. Of food bank. So did I, I absolutely did. And I spent the first 90 days just observing.

Mm-hmm. I walked up and down the line. I got to meet the people there. Most of 'em wouldn't even make eye contact with me. They felt so much shame. But the people that came were not who I [00:11:00] expected. I truly believe that the majority would be the unhoused. Mm-hmm. Homeless. It's not the case. It's 2% of who we serve.

Who I met in that line were people who recently lost a job, working poor families, lots of seniors and lots of veterans. I saw moms with the young kids who for the first time had to make a decision to come to us, and it was a hard decision. Mm-hmm. And it started to make me think about how we interacted with them and that began.

The journey of our culture change at the food locker. 

Jeff Holden: And a mindset. 

Carrie Johnson: Absolutely. A mindset. 

Jeff Holden: You know, you told me a story as we were talking prior about a woman who just drove up. Tell that, share that story. 'cause I think that's so real today. It's indicative 

Carrie Johnson: of what's going on. Yes. Saturday we had a food drive.

Um, we were not open to the public. We were receiving food from the community. We had this huge food drive sponsored by Atlas Disposal. Neighbors and people were coming in, donating food, businesses were coming in and a couple of cars rolled in thinking we were open. Mm-hmm. Obviously, we're never gonna turn [00:12:00] anybody away.

First two that came in were veterans, seniors. Mm-hmm. We set 'em up with food. The third car was a suburban mom car. I don't know cars very well, but it's a mom car. And she had a, a five-year-old in the car and a probably 12 to 13 month old in a car seat. Mm-hmm. And she rolled down their window and I thought she was donating from the look of the car.

I assumed that. And she said, no, I need a little bit of food. And I go, she goes, I go, can you wait till Monday? And she goes. And then she started to get choked up. Mm-hmm. And I said, Hey, hang on. That's why we're here. We're gonna get you some groceries. Our staff went in, loaded up a grocery cart and we brought them out to her.

I saw that there was a, a young child in the car and I said, do you also need diapers? We're a diaper depot. And then she really started to cry. She goes, are you kidding? I said, no, we're able to provide a supply of diapers once a month to families, which is quite significant. Mm-hmm. So we got her settled in and I, and I said, look, we're here.

You can come in every week and get food. That's what we're here for. Once a week, we can provide your family with food. She took a deep breath. She goes, thank [00:13:00] you. She goes, I've never been in this position ever in my life. She goes, I have a full-time job. My husband just went from full-time to part-time six months ago.

We haven't been able to get his hours back up. We lost our medical benefits 'cause they were through his position. We just had to start paying out of pocket on our own and something has to give and it's food and I can't let my kids go hungry. Mm-hmm. I mean, it was so telling that as a society we don't see.

Folks, and I think it's so important to see them, to hear them, to smile at them and give them that sense of hope, right? Like, we're gonna help you get through this. Mm-hmm. That's what a food locker, a food pantry should be doing. Giving people that bit of hope to know that they can come somewhere safe, where they're gonna be smiled at and greeted and cared for during this really difficult time in their life.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. We're here for you. We're here for you. And and we exist. We exist in every community. Yep. 

Carrie Johnson: That's throughout the entire county, throughout the entire state, 

Jeff Holden: and, and that's part of the awareness. We need to make people [00:14:00] understand as well that it's not about the sustained usage. It's crisis. 

Carrie Johnson: It is absolute crisis.

It's not an emergency. Food is crisis. If it's an emergency. It's a, it's a one time situation. We are, we've been in this country well beyond emergency. Yeah. We have a crisis going on with food insecurity. 

Jeff Holden: Let's move on to collaboration. The people that you work with, the other organizations that are a part of making the.

Community food hub, what it's going to be. Going forward? 

Carrie Johnson: Well, as, uh, the Food Locker currently is, we're a partner agency with Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. We're part of that network throughout the county. Mm-hmm. There's 110 of us throughout, um, the region that help supply food, so that's an important partnership for us.

Um, we also partner with our own city. They are a great partner helping us with edible food recovery and. Other nonprofits we partner with for referrals and both directions. So we have the city's neighborhood services on our campus every week to [00:15:00] help folks that are unhoused get resources. It's amazing thing about Rancho Cordova, they really care about all their citizens and they show up every day in that way.

So they have a navigation team and they meet us right on our campus to help people. And we also have a pet food program with the city. Because if you think about our seniors mm-hmm. We were starting to see that they were choosing. To feed their pet, 

Jeff Holden: the pet over there. 

Carrie Johnson: And they were having to make decisions about getting rid of a pet.

And if you think about their health mm-hmm. And their mental health, that pet's cri. Critically important. Yes. So we have this great pet food program that we partner with. We partner with, um, VOA and Veterans Village to provide volunteers of America, volunteers of America Yes. To provide groceries to recently homeless veterans that are transitioning and to veteran families.

So we deliver, um, every week Oh wow. To families at the Veterans' Village. 

Jeff Holden: That's amazing. Yeah. You know, the, the collaborative relationship with all the organizations and, and we hear it from, you know, the other food. Mm-hmm. Lockers, food [00:16:00] resource centers, and there's an episode with Blake Young from Sacramento Food Bank.

Mm-hmm. And family services as well. If people wanna understand what that distribution looks like, because it's a little bit different. Mm-hmm. You are the outlet point. Correct. They're the distribution point. 

Carrie Johnson: So the food bank is the. I guess the warehouser of food. Yes. So, you know, they have this incredible facility where they can store a lot of food and then they help distribute that food, the federally funded food and other food that they source mm-hmm.

Um, out into the network. And it's incredible. We, we can't manage without that. 

Jeff Holden: I'm really anxious to get to the next steps of this conversation, but I wanna hold off just for a second as we talk about what you realized as you've gone through this in the course of the three years. Mm-hmm. First of all, you happen to be in a community right now that is.

Really getting a lot of recognition for a lot of things that are happening. And this is going to be just another one of those wonderful things that we're seeing happen in Rancho Cordova. I mean, absolutely. A downtown being built a big entertainment facility [00:17:00] and just so many AI businesses. Mm-hmm. And AI moving, was it, uh, open AI or, or Nvidia, Nvidia coming with the, the, the chips.

I mean, that's a big deal. 

Carrie Johnson: It's, you know, and 

Jeff Holden: this is a community that's kind of just been lost. Over the years, it was just not anymore there. It was in between. It was a couple of different places and it's wonderful to see. We'll be back with more from Kerry Johnson and the innovations taking place at the Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub.

Right after we hear from those who make this program possible. 

Darrell Teat: We are really excited to be part of the family and contribute to the work that you all are doing. Core provides fractional and interim executive services along with comprehensive back office solutions that go into our client sites and do the work to give them the capacity they need in order to move through transitions, whether that's planned or unplanned, or companies also work with our accounting and finance.

Back Office solutions, human [00:18:00] resources, technology and administration. The reason why our back office solutions add value is because we save them time and money anywhere from 20 to 30% of what they would spend on that back office solution. We work in it so they can actually work on it. CX OR e.com and contact me directly at DTE a t@cxoe.com.

Jeff Holden: If you're interested in learning more about how CORE may help your organization, visit CXOR e.com.

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment. In our more recent survey, we hear concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative [00:19:00] investments.

If you would like a copy of the survey or do discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. 

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It's a partner in your purpose. Explore your options today@westernhealth.com. Western Health Advantage, healthcare with heart [00:20:00] designed for those who give back. You are taking a very progressive approach with something. Mm-hmm. And over those three years, you saw an opportunity to do things a little bit differently.

Share with us what you saw and what you've done about it. 

Carrie Johnson: Sure. As I mentioned, I didn't know a lot about food insecurity and how it impacted people. And so I did a lot of obs observing in those early months and that first year, and quite frankly, I was shocked about our system. It is the exact same thing that's been happening for 40 years.

People that are hungry, just like in the Great Depression, they would line up at a soup kitchen or a food pantry or a church to get food. Mm-hmm. And it hasn't changed. And if you think about the impact of that experience on the person receiving food, and you look from their lens, you start to see that we cannot do this like this anymore.

We're not, we're helping giving them some good calories and some nutritional food, but at the same time, we're not seeing them. We're not recognizing who they are as a human, and we're [00:21:00] making life a little bit harder. And what I mean by that is most locations, most distribution sites, we, we don't let people choose what they get to eat.

Right. And for some people they think, oh, that should be fine. They should just be grateful for what they get. Yeah. And give 'em whatever they get. There's some food, right? Well, I wanna ask every mom out there, and they know this, try to feed something your children don't like or aren't familiar with. Are they gonna eat it?

Are they gonna struggle with that? Sure. Mm-hmm. We've just made that mom's day a lot harder. And so, um, I started to do some research. I quickly found only one book about food pantries and food lockers, and it really changed. Yes. Remember you saying that, isn't that amazing that there's only one book reinvent?

Hold 

Jeff Holden: that up for the 

Carrie Johnson: reinventing food banks and food pantries. And this became kind of like a bible for me. I read it four times. I bought a copy for all of our board and I said, look, there is another way we can do this. And what that way looks like is. Giving people a sense of dignity, engaging with them when they're visiting the food locker, not asking them to stand in long lines.

Mm-hmm. To give them choice, give 'em culturally appropriate food. Let that [00:22:00] senior choose food that makes sense for her. Dietary restrictions and the concept and the idea of creating a no-cost grocery store. And that will be the new community food hub. And so we got this idea early on. I started researching it.

We went and visited, there's one example up in Seattle, Ballard Food Bank. Beautiful. They just opened two years ago and I started watching what they were doing and there's a lot of people that are trying different models of this in, in a small way, and I don't mean a small, small is not the right word.

They're trying this model of a people's choice. Mm-hmm. My good friend and colleague, Amanda at River City, they have a people's choice model. It's still outdoors. The food is laid down on tables and people walk through and choose. Mm-hmm. That's a great start. I wanted to take this concept. A little further, and I think because I'm in the city of Rancho Cordova who is innovative and a great champion, we've been able to do that.

We are currently under construction for the new community food hub. It'll be a [00:23:00] first of its kind model of a grocery store that just looks just like where you and I go. Right? Yes. Moms, seniors, our veterans can walk in with pride and. Choose their own food. One of the things that was really telling about this project on the day, we met with our contractor and all the subs on site.

I asked for an opportunity to talk to them. I told the whole group all the subs about this vision and why it mattered so much. I really wanted our vendors and our subs to be engaged in this process. And I finished talking and one of the gentlemen who's a senior vice president of the largest tile company.

In the nation pulled me aside and he grabbed my hand. He had tears in his eyes. He said, you know what? This would've made a difference for my mom. 

Jeff Holden: Wow. 

Carrie Johnson: And it shows you this. This system is for a period of time in people's lives, and if we can shore them up and make life a little easier, they can raise kids who can be a senior vice president, right?

Mm-hmm. So it's really a model born out of dignity and true love and care for people. 

Jeff Holden: I don't think. [00:24:00] People really recognize either the number of family businesses in our community that have gone through some of our social services. Oh my gosh. Whether it be Salvation Army, volunteers of America. Mm-hmm. A food bank in some way, shape or form.

And when you start to realize it is just a part of reality, it happens. And if we're there for them, they continue and they succeed. 

Carrie Johnson: Exactly. Life. 

Jeff Holden: It gives them that ability to thrive. It's, yes, 

Carrie Johnson: it really is. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And I, I, this is where you have some other collaborators, some people that have really stepped up in the process of helping you get this facility built.

And I think it was worth recognizing those people's, and I know you've got those names, so please do. Let's, um, 

Carrie Johnson: you know, it was a big, bold idea. First we needed a building and some land. To do that, we needed some money. And, uh, right when I started, one of the things I did was I visited all of our elected officials and I started having this conversation.

I brought them this book. Mm-hmm. And I said, look, we've got to do this differently. [00:25:00] I can see a path forward, you know, can you support that? Well, I was really fortunate in the first year that I was with the Food Locker, former assembly member, Ken Cooley, said, write a paper about food insecurity and wanted to understand it better.

And I was able to secure a two and a half million dollars grant. For capital improvements. So that was our seed money. Mm-hmm. That got it started. Of course, building a building costs a whole lot more than than that. Right. We were able to purchase a dilapidated commercial property that has been an eyesore for the city for a long time.

The city was super behind the. The project because they wanted this area improved. They loved our plans and they supported our process. Also, making permitting was super smooth. We still need a lot more money. Mm-hmm. And we had this, we bought, we own the property, we own the building, but we still need to build it.

Right. 2.7 million to build this project. And I'm starting to talk to contractors and I meet the tanker sleeves. Heather and Steve, they own Tankersley Construction [00:26:00] and I sit down with them. I tell 'em the vision, I said. If you're willing to walk this path, I would love to work with you. I'm gonna be upfront with you right now.

I don't have all the money, but we'll get there. Mm-hmm. And they said we're in, we're all in. The second day. He had called. I don't know how many vendors to get US product donated everything from paint to lighting to flooring materials. I mean, he was all in. So we've been able to secure a lot, reduce our cost by all these different trades donating back to the project.

So we've been able to piece it together and then the city stepped up to help support us. I 

Jeff Holden: know because it just keeps going this, it just keeps going. 

Carrie Johnson: The momentum just kept going. And so we now are fully in construction and the new community food hub will open in April of next year. 

Jeff Holden: It's so exciting.

That's so exciting. That is so exciting. Exciting. And what a progressive move again for Rancho Cordova to be the first one in the state to have this sort of a facility. Mm-hmm. As a template. And I also know that you were the recipient of the impact 100 a hundred [00:27:00] thousand dollars grant. Congratulations for that.

That was incredible. I think that paid for your walk-in freezer, if I'm not mistaken. It 

Carrie Johnson: did. It helped pay for that walk-in refrigeration. Refrigeration. Refrigeration, which was just recently craned over the building and put in place. So that was super exciting for us and, and it, and it's that kind of philanthropy that just makes such a difference.

Jeff Holden: The organization, when you started, do you recall what the budget you were working with? Sure was. 

Carrie Johnson: When I was hired, they had an annual budget of $52,000. 

Jeff Holden: And today, 

Carrie Johnson: today we're, we have an operating budget of 1.4 million. 

Jeff Holden: That's incredible. That's. It, it really is an astounding number. Not to mention, you've had this capital project that's over $5 million and recognition, I'm sure in support from a bank that's gonna say, Hey, we get it.

We're there. 

Carrie Johnson: Five Star has stood up and helped us with this project from day one. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, 

Carrie Johnson: they kind of looked at me like it was crazy, but they, they figured it out. We figured it out. 

Jeff Holden: That refrigeration, I'm sure requires electricity and I know SMUD has been there as well. And 

Carrie Johnson: that's the thing, as we [00:28:00] get going with this and people see this new concept, they've been really eager to support us.

Um, SMUD is going to, we're gonna use solar and we're gonna have charging stations that we can actually sell power back to smud. So that will reduce our operating costs and help us generate some income. 

Jeff Holden: And operating cost is, is a great segue to the next question as well, because. With federal funding changes, we, we don't even know the impact yet into 2026 of what this is all going to look like.

State changes. 

Carrie Johnson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: You grants, everything has changed over the course of the last six months and it's not going to. I want to choose the words properly here. There's not going to be more opportunity for money to flow into nonprofits Correct. In the years ahead. So it's incumbent on nonprofits to look at ways to fund themselves through a variety of different means, revenue 

Carrie Johnson: streams.

Sure. 

Jeff Holden: And I know we've talked about a couple What, 

Carrie Johnson: so one of the things that, you know, I've worked in nonprofits for 20 years and having a sole [00:29:00] reliance on. Fundraising dollars as your revenue stream is not necessarily sustainable. It's hard. 

Jeff Holden: It's very hard. Yeah. We have 

Carrie Johnson: hundreds and hundreds of wonderful nonprofits throughout our community.

We don't need to be competing with each other. We've gotta find a way where we can structure it differently. Mm-hmm. And so one of the things that this property and this new concept will do for us is give us an opportunity to generate some revenue. So one, you know, the solar is a great example of that, but also we now have not only a grocery store, but a beautiful community room.

We can rent that space out to other organizations and businesses to use to help generate revenue. We can. We're looking at partnering with healthcare providers to bring them on site to meet the needs of the people that we serve. We have an audience that they care deeply about. This could be a one-stop shop.

Mm-hmm. This facility gives us so much opportunity moving forward. There's opportunity to partner with, uh, municipalities on edible food recovery contracts, so we're looking at all kinds of revenue streams that might help us. Move forward 

Jeff Holden: and these are things we haven't typically thought about 'cause we [00:30:00] haven't needed to.

Not that it's ever been easy, but. The need has always been there. 

Carrie Johnson: Sure. And I think the model, I think the need has been there, but the models have stayed the same. 

Jeff Holden: Correct. 

Carrie Johnson: So we've gotta change the model. We've gotta change the approach. And I think a community food hub is a really innovative model and I think it will, um, it could be something that we can replicate.

That's part of my dream is we've been tracking what we're doing all along. How can I share that? With my peers here regionally, but also across the state because I think it's something that could really work 

Jeff Holden: well. I can see once you've got the template, 'cause you've started from scratch. Mm-hmm. You know, with just an example in Washington.

You are building the first one here, so you know, every step along the way there, that template exists. Uh, I see. I've seen where it is today. And thank you very much. The tour's spectacular. Thank you. To see what it looks like. And you know, you look, and it looks like it's so close, but I know there's, it's the details that really 

Carrie Johnson: we're close.

April is close. Drag 

Jeff Holden: everything out. Yes. It'll be here before we know it, that's for [00:31:00] sure. I mean, we're already talking Christmas. Mm-hmm. So as we record this in November of 2025. How many people do you employ today? 

Carrie Johnson: Today we have seven full-time staff and one part-time staff. When I started three years ago, I was the only full-time employee and we had two part-time staff.

Jeff Holden: Well, I see for the budget of $52,000, you were a volunteer full-time employee too at that point in time. What's it look like when you get into the new building? You know, 

Carrie Johnson: that's, that's the part we're working on right now. 'cause obviously our entire operational system changes dramatically. Right, right.

We're not trying to scramble every day to figure out what's the setup gonna look like outdoors. Yes. Is it raining or is it 102 degrees? And we're gonna be in this beautiful facility, so we're. Actually talking to a lot of grocers to get advice on how do you stock shelves and how do you move inventory and all those kind of things that we are new to.

Sure. 

We've, we're looking forward in our budget to hiring additional full-time staff. We'll obviously need, um, an operational lead for the facility. We've [00:32:00] got this great asset, we gotta take really good care of it. So yes, there'll be an increase in the number of staff. 

Jeff Holden: I also want you to address the types of people that you have on staff, because it's not, thank for asking that.

It's, it's United Nations. It's all part of our 

Carrie Johnson: cul It is, it's part of our culture. Rancho Cordova is a 

Jeff Holden: really diverse community. It's an 

Carrie Johnson: extremely diverse C community, and you have to represent that in the best of ways. And so that idea of giving people dignity and welcom welcoming them. Right. I only speak English.

Mm-hmm. I had folks coming to speak Farsi, and Dari and Spanish and Ukrainian and Russian. That is intimidating to come to a place where no one spoke your language or no one could communicate with you. Mm-hmm. We didn't have materials in their languages, so it became very clear really early on. I couldn't hire staff initially, so we recruited volunteers.

That spoke those languages and that was one of the best things we did. It, it changed everything for the people we serve out of that. One of the things that was really interesting, and I didn't like, this was new to me. I didn't know what the rules were. [00:33:00] 

Jeff Holden: Probably better. 

Carrie Johnson: It was better. Asked for free, you know, forgive later.

Yes, it was after this. Um, so. One of our, one of the people that came in our line, we called them guests. We stopped calling 'em clients. I don't believe that they're clients. They're our friends and neighbors. Mm-hmm. So that we changed our language of how we refer to the people that we were supporting. And one of our friends and neighbors came up to me one day and she said, I've been coming for three months.

I don't need to come anymore, but I would like to volunteer and give back. She was a Ukrainian woman. I said, absolutely. And what happened that day was I realized. They want to help. They don't want just a handout. And so we quickly had a lot of our guests becoming volunteers also. How great is that? It was just a beautiful community building and, and then over time as they didn't need our service, they continued to volunteer 'cause they were so grateful.

And we have 150 regular volunteers. Many of them started as our guests who are no longer our guests. They've gotten their lives, things have gotten better for them, and so they don't need our service. But they come every day because they're grateful and they speak [00:34:00] all kinds of languages. So on any given day, we can have six to eight different languages being spoken.

Um, the woman I spoke of was so amazing. She ended up, became a part-time staff. She's now a full-time staff. So we have staff that speak Russian, Armenian, Ukrainian, Spanish. And yeah, those four languages. And so that's, it was purposeful, amazing. Our driver that we have, Arthur, he's amazing. He, I saw him in line.

He's extremely tall, and I always walk up and down and say hi to people and see how you're doing. He looked really intimidated to come to the food locker and I just asked him how he was doing. He said, I'm okay, but, um, I've been out of work. I'm a truck driver for six months and saw him the next week, said hello to him.

I needed a truck driver. I pulled him aside and I said. Do you have a resume? He goes, no, but I have my driver's record and I have a reference letter from I, he was 16 years in this trucking company, Uhhuh. And I said, okay. So we sat down, we had an interview, I hired him part-time, and now he's our full-time [00:35:00] lead driver.

Jeff Holden: Isn't that a beautiful story? It's such a beautiful story. That's are the stories you want to hear because these are the people that can relate to the community and the people in the community. Oh my gosh. People who are experiencing, experiencing food insecurity for whatever period of time. And say, Hey look, it gets better.

Carrie Johnson: It does. And he is. So the thing about our staff is that they are, they were hired for a skillset, but they're also hired because of their deep care for the people we serve. And it shows every day the way they show up. And we have a, what we call grandma's program, so we know there's a lot of seniors that can't get to us.

Mm-hmm. And so. I'd love to grow it and eventually we will. But right now we deliver to about a dozen seniors in their homes that are in our community of Ranch Cordova. And some days Arthur does that delivery and he says it's the best part of his day and they all take pictures of with him 'cause he is so tall and he's so sweet to them.

So I think one of the things that a food hub can do, or or a food pantry or food locker is we can build community and we can show people that are [00:36:00] having a hard time that they're. People around them that care deeply. And so I think we've been able to do that with this culture change and the way we interact with everyone.

It's a really beautiful thing to see. We do a huddle every morning before we start our day with our volunteers. And usually on a typical day we have about 40 mm-hmm. Volunteers there. And in the huddle we get an opportunity to talk to them about who you might see and how you can show up for them. And we do that.

Every single day that we're open to the public, because what it's done is it's helped our volunteers take away judgment and be a better community partner, be a better neighbor to the people we serve. And that was a huge shift for a lot of our original volunteers. They didn't quite understand it because their mind was like, how much food can we get out?

Let's just get the foods. Mm-hmm. Out the door. Right. Well, it's more about, it's more than just getting the food out the door. It's making sure that that person knows that they're cared about. And that's really. Our whole premise, 

Jeff Holden: and I think hope exudes from that. My gosh. [00:37:00] Consideration. Oh my gosh. It's not just here, take it, go next.

Carrie Johnson: Get to your car. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, yeah. We, we care about you and, and we really don't wanna see you here again. 

Carrie Johnson: Mm-hmm. We 

Jeff Holden: want you to grow and move on. And the fact that people come back tells you, you are absolutely on the right track because they're coming back to volunteer and now you volunteer. Be employed. Yeah.

Carrie Johnson: It's pretty amazing. I keep saying and joking with this team. I, I said we, we have a little workforce development thing going on. Yes, you do. And not formal. It's, it's just very organic. Yeah. And um, we've had a lot of volunteers who have been out of the workforce for a long time and come back and volunteer.

They get their. They feel good about themselves again, they start to interact with people. They improve their language skills, they can. Now they're applying to Grocery Outlet into Safeway, and we're writing letters of recommendation because they've been in the food business with us for six months, and then they go on to get a job.

Jeff Holden: And just imagine once the facility is going, oh my gosh, it is a grocery store. 

Carrie Johnson: We're gonna do a training of, I don't even know what that looks like, but yes, we can do that [00:38:00] too. That's 

Jeff Holden: great. Exciting. And where they can grow from there. Mm-hmm. Just so many opportunities. Just as a part of the process. And you'll never have.

Want, I don't think 

Carrie Johnson: mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: For people who want to get involved. No. Especially if they see the track record of others that have passed through it. Yeah. So you are a workforce development entity as well as a food. 

Carrie Johnson: There may be a funding source there. Let's, let's think about that. Oh 

Jeff Holden: we'll, we'll have that conversation on a follow up, that's for sure.

'cause I think you're absolutely right. Or an appre an apprentice program for grocery stores. So many, many, you start to think of what this could be to acclimate some of the people who maybe their language skills aren't quite where they need to be, et cetera, et cetera. Mm-hmm. So, so many things that can come from this.

Carrie Johnson: One of the things that stood out from day one is that no one that came, that it comes in our line Yes. Wanting it to be there. It was a have to. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Carrie Johnson: And that became very evident to me right away. They didn't choose, they didn't like. Decide not to go to the grocery store 'cause they, and come here to get free food.

They had to. Right. It wasn't a choice. And so if we can make that [00:39:00] experience different, it's so important. Mm-hmm. And everybody says, I'm looking for a job. Do you know of a job? I get asked that like 10 times a day. Yeah. Probably more than that. But people wanna work. They don't want to not work. Or people that are working.

Just need to know they can go to a place where they can keep their chin up and, and feel dignity when they, when they do that and not be judged because maybe their paycheck doesn't help them get to the end of the month. Right. I had a good friend that used a term and I love it. They have more month than money.

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Carrie Johnson: And it's true. Yep. Right. We see spikes toward the end of the month when things start to run out. So we have to be here as a resource, but we need to show up differently. That's the new mm-hmm. That's the new paradigm. Do it differently. 

Jeff Holden: Again, back to dignity and hope. 

Carrie Johnson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: That's, that's the most we can offer.

That's far greater value than anything, because that moves them forward. Mm-hmm. In, in every step of the way. 99% of the organizations that come through this next question, [00:40:00] it truly is a dream, not a dream already. Begun and somewhat recognized, and it's if somebody came to you with a blank check and said, Kerry, oh my gosh.

Right? 

Carrie Johnson: The dream. You're right. That is the dream. 

Jeff Holden: What would you do with it? And I would say part of your dream is already being fulfilled. It's get this. 

Carrie Johnson: And it's happening. I do have a, a construction loan, so yes, I would love to pay that loan off. Right. So that's one. 

Yep. 

Two. I need shelving and racks for my warehouse.

I need shelving for the grocery store. I need one of those refrigerated units with the mister, so, so it looks just like a grocery store For produce, we're gonna put a orchard out front. On part of our property so we can connect people to food. Mm-hmm. I need an orchard installed. It wasn't part of our plan, but we're gonna do that too, if I have that check.

Yes. So yeah, tho those would be the top things. And 

Jeff Holden: your parcel is a pretty good sized parcel from what it looked like three quarter of an 

Carrie Johnson: acre, 

Jeff Holden: Uhhuh. 

Carrie Johnson: So when we bought the property in the build, there were two separate parcels. We bought a three quarter acre. Piece of property and [00:41:00] then the commercial building next to it, because we knew we would need a portion of that property for parking.

Mm-hmm. So we still have about a half acre to play with, with that. You could do 

Jeff Holden: growing and gardening and all sorts of not, not 

Carrie Johnson: growing. I, my good friend Shauna was soil-borne farms. Oh, yes. He's, he's a farmer. And I, we've had John sitting in his chair. Yes. And I look forward to doing some partnerships with him to grow produce.

Excellent. So I don't, I don't need to be in his business. That's what he does really, really well. But I think it's important that people understand. Food comes from, and it's just a, it'd be a simple opportunity. Mm-hmm. You know, just to have an orchard for your Well, and again, I can see 

Jeff Holden: the collaborative, you know, have the schools come through the, the kids can see what this is all about.

Mm-hmm. They also get to be, and they, they get a demonstration of service. Mm-hmm. You know, to see how this grocery store works and who it works for. Yeah. And I'm sure kids know. Kids talk and they know when there's issues. And again, back to the dignity of it all, if, oh, I saw your mom at the grocery store.

Carrie Johnson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: [00:42:00] Just like we might see 

Carrie Johnson: a friend at the grocery store. A friend at the grocery store. That's so interesting that you said that. I had a mom when we were looking at changing our name we're the Rancho Cordova Food Locker. Soon to be the Community food hub. Community food hub. And as we were going through that change and thinking about what that name would look like, I talked, I spent a lot of time.

Talking to our friends and neighbors, our guests, and I had one mom say to me, you know, I don't tell anybody I come here, but if I was going to the community food hub, I could say that. Mm-hmm. So really trying to take as much stigma away for people. And I think this new model and our new name, it's very welcoming and all encompassing.

So I think people will feel really good about coming there. 

Jeff Holden: Now you, you did share in the vision. Some of the things that would be needs. Mm-hmm. Because they're specific to the building, but as the operation, what is the greatest need 

Carrie Johnson: access to nutritious food. So large portion of our food comes from Sac Food Bank, which we're extremely grateful for.

For, we also now with Edible Food Recovery [00:43:00] from our grocery stores. So our driver goes to every single store in our area, picking up food that otherwise would've gone to waste. It's perfectly good food, but we also need the ability to purchase more fresh produce. That's the biggest demand is fresh produce.

Jeff Holden: Okay. And that's, again, another misnomer. People think. Well, you know, what you're serving at the food banks is just either expired or oh, you know, dated canned goods. Never. And it is anything but 

Carrie Johnson: correct. It is anything, but it's, if you think about dignity, handing someone a dented can of food is not dignity.

So no, the food is not in that state. Yes. Um, so what we do provide people is good, healthy, nutritious food, and that's really important. 

Jeff Holden: Now, I will say as a college student, I worked at a grocery store all the way through high school, all the way through college. Mm-hmm. And on the weekends I would come back and work.

Carrie Johnson: You stock the shelves for us at the new place. Well, I 

Jeff Holden: did that. I did stocking the shelves and everything. We did the night crew. It was, it was a blast. The dented cans and cut boxes were great for us. Yeah. As opposed to Sure, sure. [00:44:00] And they knew that, hey, wait, Jeff's coming in this weekend. What does he need?

Safe? Oh no, not safe. We'll tend to can, or two, you know, we got, we knew so many people in the store, it was like, Hey, what do you need? What do you need this weekend? Oh yeah, that cereal box got cut. Do you like Frosted Flakes or Raisin Brandand, you know, whatever it was. So. That's so 

Carrie Johnson: kind. 

Jeff Holden: It was, it was an experience, but Sure.

Nonetheless, very different from what we're talking about here, you know? Well, 

Carrie Johnson: and it, and it, you just shut shed a light. I mean, we're talking about college students. Yeah. And that's one of the largest populations that are facing food insecurity today. 

Jeff Holden: Uh, we, we know Sac State has its own food locker. Yes.

Carrie Johnson: They do. You know, which is, and, 

Jeff Holden: and it's again, same situation. Mm-hmm. You know, the growth and the demand on that. Locker has been incredible over the course of the last couple of years. Yeah. Let's get a little personal. 

Carrie Johnson: Okay. 

Jeff Holden: You've got the weight of feeding a community on your shoulders. Oh, 

Carrie Johnson: it's not just mine.

Jeff Holden: This is true. Not to mention the demand of a new building, a construction project, which is also [00:45:00] burdensome. 

Carrie Johnson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: What do you do to relax? How do you chill? 

Carrie Johnson: Well, first we have, I have a great team. To help support that as you described, burden. I don't see it as a burden. I see it as probably the greatest work of my life.

Yeah. Um, but to chill. I have eight grandchildren that bring me incredible joy. They are, I see you Say 

Jeff Holden: that in the prior conversation. Eight grandchildren. 

Carrie Johnson: Seven and under. 

Jeff Holden: Oh my goodness. Four girls. 

Carrie Johnson: Four boys. I have three adult sons and, and amazing daughter-in-law so that. If I needed a little shift in my mindset, all I have to do is FaceTime with one of them.

And you know, I just can't stop smiling from ear to ear. Yes. 'cause it's a lot of fun. And then I also spend a lot of time in my garden. My garden, and I have vegetables and flowers and that just brings me amazing amount of joy. 

Jeff Holden: That's great. That is great. Now, in, in the rainy season, I'm sure it's more, I was actually out last 

Carrie Johnson: night because asked my husband, I had, I have a lot of flowers and I didn't want them to get pummeled today.

So in the dark, I had a headlight on my head [00:46:00] that my husband had got me for a camp trip, and I went out there with my cutters and I, I literally was cutting flowers just so that they wouldn't get ruined today with the rain, 

Jeff Holden: which I, I. Appreciate because this is a woman who's probably gotten up at 4 30, 5 o'clock in the morning to make sure everything's squared away at the construction site and so much going on.

Well, we have a team 

Carrie Johnson: over there that does that. We have a great site supervisor, but our team does start at 5:00 AM to get going for the day. I 

Jeff Holden: figured. I figured. 

Carrie Johnson: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: How many days are you open? 

Carrie Johnson: We're open to the public for distribution three days a week, but we're, we work five. Sure, because, so Monday, Wednesday, Friday, we're distributing food.

Tuesday, Thursday we're prepping for the distributions. 

Jeff Holden: What's the expectation with the new facility? I 

Carrie Johnson: think that's one of the best opportunities is right now we're we're constrained by the church campuses that we're on. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Carrie Johnson: So we're technically open nine hours a week for distribution, and if you think about nine hours that we serve 1500 families in nine hours, it isn't.

It's intense. It is. [00:47:00] Challenging for the staff and they show up for it every day. Mm-hmm. But it is, it's intense. I can imagine. Can you imagine? Yeah. So now we'll be able to take that and spread that out. We can set our own hours. We are gonna be much more like a grocery store. We'll have one evening a week where we'll be open for people that are working poor can access to come to the store.

We'll be open on a Saturday, so we'll have much longer hours. Mm-hmm. So people don't have to feel that panic of showing up in these long lines. Yeah. And if I don't get there, I don't get 

Jeff Holden: food. 

Carrie Johnson: Well, to this day, we haven't had to turn anybody away. So Wonderful. That is the hope. We've got great partners and we haven't had that happen even in the Snap crisis.

Jeff Holden: That's outstanding. 

Carrie Johnson: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: What's the best way to learn more about the Rancho Cordova? Community Food hub. 

Carrie Johnson: Well reach soon to be community food hub. Come on. Distribution day and volunteers. So you can see what it looks like now. But reach out to me. I would love to take anyone that wants to see the project on a tour, we have to do it after three 30 when the construction site shuts down now because of insurance reasons, but they can come and visit it.

'cause I think seeing at firsthand the [00:48:00] project, it'll get you really excited. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Well it's a very cool looking building. It is. And I think for the community and its location. I mean, it's the bright spot. 

Carrie Johnson: It is. 

Jeff Holden: And to think in that 

Carrie Johnson: neighborhood, 

Jeff Holden: this is what people maybe used to perceive. As, oh boy. We don't want a food locker in our neighborhood.

This is like, bring this thing on because it's mm-hmm. Wonderful looking facility. 

Carrie Johnson: It is, it's really beautiful. We're on light rail also, which provides better access for the people we serve. So, and that was part of our decision making matrix when we were looking for a location. Sure. So it is, it's, and we designed it.

I didn't design it. We had amazing partnerships with LPAS architects and Grayscale Architects and the Western contract. Our board chair is their vice president and she has done all the interior and her team, the interior design. It's a beautiful store. Yeah, it's a beautiful facility. 

Jeff Holden: In terms of connecting, where should they go?

Carrie Johnson: Website 

Jeff Holden: is 

Carrie Johnson: Rancho cord of a food locker.org. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. And we're gonna have that in the show notes as [00:49:00] well as the book that you mentioned a little bit earlier about running. It's a food bank. 

Carrie Johnson: Great book, 

Jeff Holden: which everybody should, anybody of interest, anybody that's interest should see it, should be aware of it.

Any parting thoughts? 

Carrie Johnson: Yes, we've seen the last five weeks be incredibly difficult 

Jeff Holden: and for the, for the benefit of those maybe listening. 

Carrie Johnson: The future at 

Jeff Holden: AT at some future point We're talking about the SNAP situation. 

Carrie Johnson: Yes. With the government shutdown down and the loss of SNAP benefits and furloughed federal employees and military families, we saw a huge increase in the number of people needing our service and in unprecedented numbers.

Mm-hmm. And what I would love to say is that the communities, this region stepped up in a way that I've never seen before with volunteering donations, food support, really. Caring for those folks, and I think for the people that were struggling, that meant as much as getting food from us. So I think as a society we did a really good job.

It should never have [00:50:00] happened, but we were able to help people during that period of time, 

Jeff Holden: if that isn't refreshing to hear. Yeah, not, not that it happened, but the fact that people actually stepped up. Oh my gosh. Because I don't think, if you're not in that space, you don't recognize the severity of it.

Mm-hmm. I know we talked prior and, and I applaud you and thank you because we're, we're not out of it yet. It's a couple days we're away yet where everything's gonna ease up a little bit, but it's, you took the time to come here because we wanted to get this episode in front of the holiday mm-hmm.

Thanksgiving holiday for all the reasons. It's, it's a high awareness and Sure. We want people to know what you're doing. Mm-hmm. And we wanna get way in front of that. April date because there's stuff you need. 

Carrie Johnson: Yep. 

Jeff Holden: And, and that's important. 

Carrie Johnson: I think the other part is I'm part of a network, so we're in Rancho Cordova, we have Elk Grove Food Bank, and we have River City Food Bank in Sacramento and we have South SSIP out in South Sac.

I think people don't realize there's this regional network that's doing this work, so if, if there's one in your area, go support them. Mm-hmm. Help them. That's what they need. 

Jeff Holden: And, and we know that this [00:51:00] situation. In most cases it's temporary. 

Carrie Johnson: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: But in most cases it's your neighbor, it's somebody you know.

And what better way to say I care about my community than to step up and support somebody who doesn't think you do and isn't sure that you do? It makes a big difference. And when they see it, it's like, my goodness. People really do and it helps them. Again, hope is everything. 

Carrie Johnson: It's 

Jeff Holden: Carrie, your passion for the project, the community, the people.

I had no idea. 40 years in Rancho Cordova. That's amazing. But to see people fed with dignity and compassion is, it's not only palpable. I can feel it from you as you talk and speak here, but it's contagious. And I think when people understand how neat this project is and what it has the potential to do.

They're just gonna embrace it and you are going to see those opportunities to see it expand throughout the state and into the country [00:52:00] for its novelty and for its success 

Carrie Johnson: and for its necessity. And 

Jeff Holden: its necessity, sadly. And 

Carrie Johnson: really, that's really, it's really the necessity of it. Yes, we can, we can show up better for people and this is a great model to do that.

Jeff Holden: And I think as a result of that, you're gonna see the support you need to continue to grow it. And we will see the support we need in our communities. As a result of mm-hmm. Of that success as well for the benefit of those who are food insecure. Mm-hmm. Thank you so much for showing up today. Thank 

Carrie Johnson: you, Jeff.

I really appreciate this time. 

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